


We Can Go Anywhere

by Moonmist_Fire



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Comedy, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Everything, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/F, Femslash, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, I am the ultimate piece of Pricefield trash, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Slow Burn, So is Chloe, max is heckin cute, pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:45:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8217560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonmist_Fire/pseuds/Moonmist_Fire
Summary: Max and Chloe have gone on some wild adventures. However, the adventure of true love is a path neither of them has taken yet. ATTENTION ~ SLOW TO UPDATEAU in which everything from the first week happened, but Arcadia is fine and so is everyone else. (LET ME LIVE IN MY IRRATIONAL FANTASY PLS.)





	1. Chloe Price, Smooth as Silk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptainVampireKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainVampireKing/gifts).



Chloe and I stood at the railing of the Brooklyn Bridge, breathing out clouds of cold air as snow fell around us. We were bundled in warm coats and scarves, looking out across the city that never sleeps.

New York City.

How breathtaking the view was, how the lights from the buildings reflected off pristine waters glittered serenely off Chloe's blue eyes just made my breath catch. I hugged my coat tighter around me. I felt Chloe cautiously snake an arm around me and I welcomed her touch completely. A comfortable silence settled between us and lingered.

"Chloe?" I asked her softly.

"Hm?" she hummed, taking a sip from the cup of hot chocolate she held in her warm hands.

"What does a first kiss feel like?"

Chloe almost did a spit-take when the words left my mouth. She chuckled and held a hand to her mouth, gazing at me with those beautiful blue eyes. They were sparkling warmly. She shook her head in amusement.

 _"What_ did you just ask me at eighteen years old, Max?" she snickered. I blushed and stared at my feet. I was wearing the new mid-calf snow boots that Chloe had gotten me for my birthday a few months earlier. _"You need some new shoes, Maxaroni!"_ she had laughed while handing me the shoe box. _"You can't just wear the same thing years in a row."_ I smiled a little at the memory, but not enough for Chloe to notice.

"What's a first kiss feel like?" I repeated. Chloe glanced at me again, saw that I was serious, and sighed a little.

"Well, I'm no writer, but I'll try and describe it as best as I can." She breathed in the cool air as I watched her expectantly, and finally she gave me an answer.

"You see, it's just fireworks. Fireworks erupting everywhere - in your lips, in your stomach, in your chest, just _everywhere."_ She waved her hand in the air for emphasis. "And you feel like you can just take off and fly at any moment. As if a thousand butterflies are just lifting you up and allowing you to go wherever you want in the world. And it's just... just magic." Chloe sipped her hot chocolate again and chuckled. "I mean, it only feels like that if you're being kissed by someone you really love, of course."

"Who gave you your first kiss?" I asked her a bit too quickly. She looked at me, puzzled.

"Rachel."

I immediately felt jealousy spark in me since Rachel could arouse those feelings in Chloe and not me. As soon as they came, I banished the thoughts from whatever hell they came from, but the feeling lingered.

"You really loved her, huh?" I asked her, a hint of sadness creeping into my voice. But Chloe either didn't hear it or chose to ignore it.

"Yes. And I still do. But it's not about her anymore, especially since we left Arcadia and now she's... she's..." Chloe trailed off and bit her lip. I placed a hand on her shoulder, immediately regretting asking her so many questions. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't because I knew Chloe would cry.

So Chloe and I stood in silence, drinking in our hot chocolate and the sight before us. It was truly beautiful. The snowflakes were gently falling down, catching rides on an occasional breeze, and coming to settle on the ground or on someone's tongue. Cars were honking in the distance somewhere in the cluster of skyscrapers that seemed to be miles away, but it was muffled by the thickness of snow that was building up around us. A thick sheet had formed on the Brooklyn Bridge long ago.

"I could show you," Chloe said suddenly, jerking me out of my thoughts. For a moment, I wondered what she was talking about. But then I realized what she meant.

"W-What?" I stammered. Did she want to...?

"I could show you what a first kiss feels like," she repeated, softer this time.

She did. _Oh my god._

Chloe faced me. Snowflakes were settling on her beanie and in her hair, resting for a moment and melting there. The lights from the city reflected off her face beautifully and brought a glitter to her eyes that once again took my breath away.

And even though my mind was saying no, every single bone in my body was screaming _yes, yes, yes!_

"O-Okay," I stuttered again. Chloe looked relieved. I felt her left arm hook around my waist and pull me closer until our abdomens were almost touching. Her right hand went up to my cheek and rested there. She was shaking.

It definitely wasn't from the cold.

I touched the hand on my cheek gently, steadying it almost instantaneously. Chloe exhaled lightly. Her face grew ever closer.

Just before our lips met, our eyes closed.

And suddenly, Chloe's lips were on mine. And Chloe's description of the kiss was perfect.

Fireworks. Fireworks _everywhere._ Fireworks in my lips and in my heart and in the pits of my stomach, and that feeling of euphoria when you think you can do anything at all. Or as she put it, being able to go anywhere at any moment in time.

And her lips - wow. They were so soft and tasted sweet, like vanilla. This was surprising since Chloe not only was a stoner but also drank alcohol. But Chloe was just so kissable in general that it didn't really matter what she did.

It was over too soon. Chloe pulled away. My eyes opened slowly, but when they were fully open, it wasn't Chloe's face that I saw in front of me. It was a white ceiling. The scent of pancakes wafted into my nose. I turned to my side and saw Chloe lying next to me, her beanie off, fast asleep. I was at her house, and Joyce was making pancakes downstairs.

A dream. All a fucking dream. Great.

 

 


	2. The Crazy Ideas She Comes Up With

Almost immediately after waking up, I fell back asleep. I don't know why, but seeing Chloe asleep next to me made me even sleepier. It was something about how peaceful she looked; how her lips would sometimes twitch up in a smile, and even a little tinkling laughter erupted from her once. I had wondered what she was dreaming about. I'd hoped it was me. But then I was back asleep again, so that thought was dismissed quickly.

When I returned to consciousness, I rubbed my eyes and yawned. The sun was filtering in through the American flag that covered Chloe's window. I stretched my back until it cracked satisfyingly when I realized that Chloe was no longer next to me, her spot instead replaced by cold air.

I sat up and looked around the room. No Chloe. However, the distinct voices of yelling coming from downstairs alerted me that Chloe was definitely downstairs, already riling up some trouble with Joyce. But something about Joyce's voice seemed different. She seemed... almost crying. I could hear snippets of their conversation if I strained my ears hard enough:

_"Not a baby anymore..."_

_"Only nineteen..."_

_"Step-douche..."_

_"Can't even go to school..."_

I sighed and wondered what Chloe was doing to upset Joyce so much.  _Well, time for Super Max to break up yet another fight,_ I thought, swinging my legs over the side of Chloe's mattress and getting up. I made my way slowly to the door, making sure not to be too loud as I opened the door and shut it behind me. I tiptoed down the steps and kept listening to the conversation as it grew clearer and clearer.

"Chloe, you can't do this! Please! First William, now you..." Joyce sobbed, her words piercing my heart. I could hear the sadness in her voice. But what did she mean? What was Chloe planning?

"Wow, Joyce. Don't say that. I'm coming back. Which was something  _he_ couldn't do!" Chloe spat. 

 _Okay, this is getting out of hand. Come on, Super Max, time to save the day,_ I thought before taking a deep breath and stepping into the dining room, where Chloe's hands were braced against the head of the table, staring daggers into Joyce's eyes. Joyce was at the opposite side of the table, her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs, but she lifted her head and wiped her eyes hastily when she saw me standing there. Chloe turned her steely gaze onto me. I waved a little.

"G' morning," I said. I wasn't sure what else there was to say. Luckily, Joyce just smiled.

"Good morning, Max. Breakfast is on the table. I, er... I have work early. Someone called in sick, so I have to fill in her place. I'll see you two later," she greeted quickly, grabbing her purse and keys and rushing out the door. I watched her as she left, and I couldn't help but notice how her voice broke because of her tears. I placed a hand on my hips and glared at Chloe.

"What've you done  _this_ time?" I asked her. She winced at my sternness.

"Ah, look. It's nothing. Have some pancakes," she grabbed my shoulder and practically shoved me into one of the chairs. I was surprised. I was half-expecting a snotty answer, or the classic  _"It's none of your business."_ But Chloe had donned a more pleasant attitude, and a warm smile replaced the glare she had worn only moments before. Chloe sat down opposite me and scooped a generous amount of pancakes onto my plate.

"Chloe, what's going on?" I queried.

"If you could go anywhere in the United States - anywhere at all - where would you go?" Chloe ignored my question.

"Chloe, what the hell are you-"

"Just answer the question, Maxaroni."

I sighed and fiddled with the fork that was lying on the table for me, thinking of an answer. I suddenly remembered the dream I had had just last night.  _New York._

Definitely.

"New York. New York City," I replied. Chloe grinned widely. 

I grabbed one of the many folded up newspapers next to me just to occupy myself, sipping the coffee that Joyce had left for me. It warm and sweet, just the way I liked it.

"Let's go to New York."

I could hear the smile in Chloe's voice as she said it. I raised the coffee mug to my lips and placed it back down, noisily turning the page of the newspaper.

"Mm. Uh huh. Sure," I chuckled and focused on a news article about oil gluts in America.

"Max."

I lowered my newspaper just in time for Chloe to grab both my hands in hers. The sudden contact caused me to shiver a little despite the coffee I had just drunk. The familiar mischievous, impish glimmer had returned to Chloe's clear blue eyes.

"Come on, Max. Let's go to New York!" she grinned.

"Chloe, I have school. And it's not like New York is next door, either! It's across the country!" I said. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a goody two shoes. Maybe you can study photography in the city. It'd sure as hell be better than here," she replied. I had to agree with her there. New York was bound to have better opportunities for me than in Arcadia Bay.

"Perhaps, but we still can't just take off like that. It's so far away. What'll our parents think?" I persisted. Chloe leaned back in her chair and smirked.

 "Well, I've told Joyce. I'm counting on her to tell David, so-"

"Oh my  _god._ Chloe Price!  _That's_ why Joyce was crying?" I said. Chloe's lips turned downwards in a frown.

"Yeah, well, she wasn't too keen on letting her daughter and her best friend steal off across the country. But hey, it doesn't matter, does it?" Chloe's words, however, were smeared with the grease of guilt. I gave her a look, and she pouted.

"Christ, Chloe. You really are crazy, aren't you?" I chuckled dryly.

"Fuckin' insane in the brain. So? Your answer?" Chloe leaned forward expectantly - so close that our faces were mere inches apart. I could feel her warm breath against my lips, and her eyes... oh, her eyes. My weakness. Deep pools of blue accentuated by the darker rim of azure around them, and that familiar mischief that had been there since we were children. How could I say no to her?

I sighed, closed my eyes, and....

And I nodded.

Immediately, I regretted it. What I was signing up for, I didn't know at the time. 

But when Chloe jumped up and started dancing and singing, all earlier qualms were silenced. Her face was so happy and when she pulled me up by the hands to dance with her, I just about swooned.

"We're going to New York!" she laughed, twirling me around in a circle. She was jumping all around the house and dragging me with her, bouncing on her toes and positively beaming.

"Come on, Max! It's a party! We're finally getting out of Arcadia Bay! Look alive, won't ya?" Chloe giggled and practically threw me onto the couch in the living room. It creaked audibly, and I feared it would give in, but it proved sturdy enough to hold both Chloe and me as she jumped on top of me and began tickling me mercilessly. I choked on bouts of laughter.

"N-no! Chloe! S-stahp it!" I laughed loudly. Chloe knew all the places where I was weakest. She snickered and continued her evil magic.

That is, until a very angry voice interrupted our fun.

 _"Excuse me,_ but  _what_ are you doing in _my_  house, on  _my_ couch, with  _my_ step-daughter?"

David. Fucking. Madsen.

Chloe scrambled off me in an instant and almost fell off the couch in the process. I pulled her back up, but she landed in an even more awkward position than before, with her pretty much straddling my stomach. So we hurriedly scooted as far away from each other as possible with our legs closed tightly. We looked behind us to see a very ticked off Madsen, his hat clutched tightly in one white-knuckled hand. His slug-like mustache was twitching irritably.

"I-It's not what it looks li-" I tried to say, but I was interrupted by a hand being slapped to my mouth. Chloe's hand.

"Why don't you mind your own business, David? And this isn't even  _your_ house. Even  _I_ own it more than you do," Chloe hissed at him. David threw a dagger-eyed look at Chloe.

"You'd better mind your sass, Chloe," he warned, his teeth gritted in anger. Chloe removed her hand from my mouth and I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Sure. Whatever. Just leave us alone, will you?" Chloe growled. David seemed to want to protest, but thought better of it and walked off. I could hear him mumbling under his breath as he clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, and the  _whump_ as his boots went up the stairs.

Chloe turned back to me. "Sorry 'bout that." She scratched her neck.

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. Hey, let's finish breakfast and we can go to the junkyard. I want to see it again, especially since we're going to New York."

Chloe smiled as she remembered. "Yep! Let's do this!"

Chloe and I made short work of our pancakes and went to the front door. Before we left, Chloe cast a look behind her, upstairs, to where David was evidently resting.

"I can't wait to leave this shithole," she snarled under her breath.

And I found myself agreeing with her.


	3. One Last Play

Chloe's truck sputtered to a stop next to the chain-link fence that bordered the old junkyard. Good ol' American Rust, Chloe's home. Our home. 

Chloe stepped out of the car and slammed the door, leaning back on her heels and taking in the sight of the junkyard. I followed suit and breathed in the scent of warm garbage that some people would have found distasteful, but which Chloe and I reveled in and savored. It was a part of our childhood; it symbolized all the memories Chloe and I shared in our past lives, playing pirate games and laughing off shared emotional baggage.

"It's nice, isn't it?" she smiled. "Probably the only thing I'll miss from this place."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I just feel like as we get older, the more complicated things get."

"That's why we've got each other, right?" Chloe turned to me, the look in her eyes affectionate. "I've got you, Maxaroni. So don't worry."

"Mm. I've got your back, too, Che," I told her, returning her gaze. 

"Anyway, come on! Let's play pirates again!" Chloe grinned and grabbed my hand. She ran forward and through the opening in the fence with me in tow, coming to a stop near the middle of the place. There was a small clearing with plenty of room to roam, covered with orange-y dust and withered grass. I turned to ask Chloe exactly  _how_ we were to play pirates here, but when I turned, she had disappeared.

"Chloe?" I called. Silence. Not even a bird, since the days were turning colder and colder. Chloe's and my favorite season was approaching - winter, the season of snuggles, snow, and hot chocolate. But Arcadia got more rain than snow on normal years.  _But we're going to New York,_ I smiled to myself,  _where it'll snow heaps every year._ _Maybe New York won't be such a bad idea after all._

All at once, a large object came hurling towards me at breakneck speed. I ducked just in time to see it fly over my head and land in the middle of a pile of junk. It was a faded purple stuffed animal, torn in half with stuffing spilling out of a long tear in its middle, and it vaguely resembled a rabbit that had been mangled by years of living with a rabid dog. I looked behind me to see who had thrown it.

Chloe stood ahead of me, a mischievous grin playing on her face, and a people's eyebrow accentuating the pirate-esque look. One hand was on her hip and the other was in the air, brandishing a taped up, dirty inflatable sword.

"Captain Chloe challenges you to a duel!" she declared with gaiety in her voice. I laughed and grabbed the mangled rabbit thing that lay a few feet away, raising it above my head.

"First Mate Max accepts your duel!" I replied gallantly. Chloe immediately charged towards me with her "sword" outstretched. I dodged to the right and poked her arm with Mangled Rabbit. She playfully clapped a hand to her arm and pretended to scream with pain.

"Oh my  _god!_ What a harsh blow! Pain permeates my very soul!" she laughed through fake pained howls. Suddenly, she jerked forward and thrust the sword between my ribs. In pretense, I grappled at the air and faked choking noises.

"Soldier down!  _Soldier down!"_ I cried and collapsed onto the ground.

"Muahahahaha!" Chloe laughed maliciously and threw down her sword. She quickly grabbed me by my waist and threw me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The touch made me start, but I began to play along as Chloe's began walking towards some place beyond the junkyard. I gently pounded on her back with my fists.

"No! You'll never take me alive!" I chortled. Chloe cackled and simply walked faster.

"Where are you taking me?" I pretended to sound scared. Chloe patted my back and laughed with mock malice in her tone.

"You're going to walk the plank!" she said. 

I went limp on her shoulder and breathed in her sweet scent that so reminded me of vanilla. It was warm and comforting, even if she was about to make me "walk the plank". I wondered what she meant by that. I didn't really care. I just didn't want this moment to end - Chloe and me in close quarters, just being ourselves with each other.

"This is for poking me with that toy thingy!" she said while setting me down on my feet. I looked down to see train tracks stretching ahead of me, snaking under my feet and going behind me before they were obscured around the bend by trees. 

"Hey,  _you_ poked me with a dirty old inflatable sword! That might've had anthrax or some shit on it!" I giggled.

"That's not how anthrax is transmitted, stupid," she chuckled lightly. "Anyway, get on those tracks, matey! It's time to walk to plank!"

I rolled my eyes and did as I was told, taking the leftmost side of the tracks. Chloe took her place on the other side.

"Oh, so you're walking the 'plank' with me now, huh?" I asked her with a grin on my face. 

"Oh, please! I'm only doing walking with you because you're too chicken to do it yourself!" she scoffed.

"Since when?" I laughed, but began walking carefully on the tracks. Chloe started with me. We walked in silence, placing one foot in front of the other cautiously. At one point, I almost fell, but Chloe steadied me with her hand, and we continued hand in hand for a while.

Chloe didn't notice the blush that was spreading across my cheeks because of the warmth of her hand in my own. She was too focused on her feet down below. Her blue hair fell around her face in locks and almost obscured the look of concentration impeccably etched across her smooth skin. I couldn't help but stare at her, longing for her to look at me with those stunning blue eyes and smile and laugh and hold me. Wanting her to whisper in my ear and-

"Earth to Super Max!  _Hello?!"_  Chloe's hand waved in my face. She chuckled as I shook my head vigorously and looked at her confusedly. "You zonked out," she explained. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, nothing... just..." I searched my brain to find an excuse. "Thinking of New York."

Chloe grinned. "It's gonna be hella awesome, Max. I know it."

"I know, but... what'll my parents say when they learn that we've escaped together off to New York?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds like we're eloping," Chloe laughed, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I blushed and fixed my gaze back onto my worn out shoes.

"Either way, I'm sure it'll be fine," Chloe continued. "And even if they  _don't_ approve, what can they do about it? We'll be fucking shit up in New York and they'll be in Seattle. They know you're in good hands with me, right?" 

I giggled at the notion. "Yeah, right. Good hands, as in the hands that held up a wine bottle to my lips when we were thirteen?"

"Pssh! Mere child's play!" Chloe chuckled slyly. "We'll be causing so much more trouble in New York. It's gonna be  _insane._ And I get to do it all with my partner in time! How hella fucking awesome is that?"

I smiled warmly. "Really awesome. Really fucking awesome."

Silence cloaked us once more, and we once again focused on balancing on the train tracks. Chloe released my hand and stopped for a moment, settling down on the tracks. She didn't, however, lie down, the painful memory of what happened not too long ago the last time she did that. I shuddered at the memory. Chloe noticed my disconcerted features and pulled me down with her. She hugged me close.

"I'm not gonna die again, okay? And if I'm stupid enough to do so, I'm counting on you to rewind," Chloe added playfully. I giggled and pressed my face into her shoulder. Ever since I was reunited with Chloe, her jacket had smelled like cigarettes and vanilla and pancakes. The scent had long since offered a form of comfort, so I savored the aroma by breathing in deeply and committing the scent to memory. I memorized the organization of the scents - first, vanilla wreathing around my nose. Then, cigarette smoke burning away the vanilla, first fraying the edges and then tearing down the sweet smell. Finally, the smell of pancakes easing in and settling around the cigarette's sharp odor, gently wearing it away until only the syrup and fluffy pancakes could be smelled.

Oh, home, sweet home.

I could feel Chloe doing the same to me. She was bent slightly over me with her nose in my hair, breathing in deeply. What scent was she savoring? I wondered what I smelled like. Probably something good, because we stayed like this for a while.

It was comfortable, not awkward at all. We both understood what the other was doing. We both wanted to know what each other smelled like before we lost our familiar attributes to the bustling streets of New York.

"Chloe?" I asked out of the blue.

"Hm?" came her reply, slightly muffled because of my hair.

"When do we leave for New York?"

Chloe shifted her position and looked at me. She studied my expression, seemed to come to an internal decision, and nodded slightly.

"Tomorrow," she said softly.

_"What?!"_

"L-look, Max. I'm sorry. I just wanted to leave early. David's not going to get any nicer, and I just know that if I stick around any longer, Joyce is just going to look sadder and sadder until I can't take it." Chloe looked at me with an anguished face. I could feel her pain. It was heart-wrenching to think of Joyce like that, or to see Chloe sad for her mother. So I put a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"It's... it's okay. I can roll with that," I assured her.

"We can do this," she said quietly, more to herself than me. "We are going to do this."

 


	4. Forbidden Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Smutty smut is smutty.*  
> Handle with caution! :>

I woke up in my  bed sweaty and breathing hard. There was a fire burning between my legs, undoubtedly caused by the erotic dream I'd just had.

 _Holy shit,_ I thought while wiping beads of sweat from my forehead.  _Did I just dream about Chloe doing_ that _to me?_

The memory was sweet and I couldn't get it out of my head. When I tried to get up, my legs brushed together, causing me to whimper.

Good thing I slept at the dorms tonight. I wouldn't want Chloe to hear this.

I collapsed back onto the bed. I didn't want to do this; I knew it was wrong. But... the image of Chloe's head between my legs, sucking on my heat was just too much for me. I couldn't help but....

 _Jesus, Max. You're the worst,_ I told myself as my hand slowly trailed across my stomach. I shivered at the cool touch. When my hand reached the band of my pajama shorts, I wasted no time in slipping underneath it to reach the warmth that so plagued me.

My hand brushed across my clit. I closed my eyes tightly and bit back a moan, knowing people might hear me and know exactly what I was doing. If Victoria heard me... damn, I'd never hear the end of it.

I began rubbing faster as the thoughts of Chloe grew dirtier. I imagined Chloe was the one stroking me instead, and my whimpers grew steadily louder until they lapsed into whines of need.

I stopped rubbing to drag a hand across my slit. It was slick with wetness and elicited a moan from me. Slowly, I dipped my middle finger into myself.

Immediately, I threw my head back and moaned again. I slowly pumped in and out before adding another finger. I panted and gasped and sighed, just wishing that Chloe had been doing this to me.

"H-holy shit," I whispered as I curled my fingers up and brushed against my sweet spot. I bit my knuckles to muffle the loud moans that spilled out of my mouth inevitably.

"Chloee..." I called quietly while thrusting and curling, thrusting and curling. The thought of Chloe doing such naughty things to me was enough to drive me over the edge. A coil in my stomach released, and I came all over my hands, twisting around and shoving my face into my pillow as I screamed.

"Goddamn," I cursed myself violently before taking my hand out from my pants and wiping my juices on the blankets. I threw off the comforter (which had suddenly started to feel stuffy and unbearably hot) and furrowed my brow, forcing myself to go to sleep before I could have the chance to pleasure myself again.

Little did I know that Chloe, who had sneaked into the dorms to deliver a surprise gift to me, was standing just outside the door, listening, and doing the same thing that I had done. She was panting softly, sounds I could barely hear and dismissed as my mind playing tricks on me.

When Chloe finished, she moaned, almost waking me up. But she remained safely undetected, left a small box with the gift at my door, and slunk off.

Chloe Price the Masturbation Ninja, eh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmhm! So this is the shiz that most of you wanted when you looked up this crap. Welp, there ya go! That was some short - but smutty - shit. And if you're disappointed, don't worry. There's plenty more where this came from. :3


	5. Sapphire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ATTENTION!*  
> Just a quick thing I'm introducing in this chapter that may or may not be used in different chapters - whenever you see the horizontal line with the symbol ✴ℭ✴floating above it, we are transitioning into Chloe's point of view. If you see the horizontal line with the symbol ✴ℳ✴ on top of it, we are going back to Max's point of view. Sorry if this seems confusing; I just think it's kind of awkward to just say "Max's point of view"; "Chloe's point of view". Kinda wanted to be a bit creative with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter of We Can Go Anywhere! :D

For the second time that day, I woke up. My sheets were still slightly damp from sweat. I blushed as I remembered what I'd done hours before, but quickly shook off the feeling.

And then I remembered.

Chloe and I were leaving for New York that day.

I sat bolt upright as I realized that I hadn't wished everyone a good life yet. I had said goodbye to Kate, Dana, Juliet, Victoria, and pretty much everyone else.... But who was I missing? I had given Daniel a goodbye photo, signed Ms. Grant's second petition as a way of saying thank you, even given Nathan a little hug. So who could possibly be missing?

Oh, right. 

Warren.

Goddamn. I was stuck in an internal conflict - my normal self wanting to say goodbye to Warren because he was sweet, but the Chloe side that had rubbed off on me telling me to leave him behind because he was a creepy bastard. And he was! I could forgive Warren for having a crush, but his "crush" had become a borderline _obsession._ Warren just didn't know when to tone it down. Chloe and I both found him creepy. But it wasn't right to just ditch him....

I ran a hand through my considerably floofy bedhead and sighed. I knew that if I told Warren I'd probably never see him again, he'd freak out and try to make a lame move on me. I probably wouldn't be able to reject him alone. Chloe always tells me I'm too soft and nice, that I should be a woman and be strong. But I'm not like her. Confidence doesn't come easily for me.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind.  _I may not be good at rejecting Warren,_ I thought with a wide grin on my face,  _but I know someone who is._

I jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a thin, pastel cerise colored hoodie. I grabbed my satchel and phone and threw open the door, almost tripping over a small box lain out in front of it in the process.

A box? I hadn't put that there. 

I bent down and picked it up tenderly just in case something delicate was inside. There was a pale blue sticky note on the lid, and it only took me a moment to recognize Chloe's large, compact handwriting:  _Dear Maxaroni, Today's the big day! I wanted to give you something to remember this day - our last day of Arcadia Bay. We're gonna be free, Spider Max! We'll take over New York, and next thing you know, we'll own the world. We're gonna fuck shit up, partner in time! -Che_

I smiled as I read her note. I read it in her voice, and just imagining her laughing was enough for me to smile. I carefully took the lid off the bottom of the box and gasped when I saw what was inside.

Lying on a small, thumb-sized little pillow was a shining necklace. Its curb chain was linked with gold plated chains, and as I picked it up, the pendant - a small jumping doe made of tiny, glittering diamond-shaped sapphires - caught the sunlight filtering in from the windows and splashed blue light on the walls. Another note lay inside:  _It's made of real sapphire, your birthstone. I got it done specially for you and it cost a shit-ton, so you'd better wear it every day, Caulfield!_  Next to these words was a small doodle of a very irritated Chloe holding open a wallet with a few flies buzzing around it. I laughed out loud. Her small letter continued: _I got a necklace, too - a butterfly made with aquamarine,_ my _birthstone. So now we both have cool spirit animal/birthstone necklaces! Hella awesome._

I couldn't believe Chloe had gotten me this necklace custom-made. It must've been way more than she could afford; pure sapphire couldn't  _possibly_ be cheap. Not to mention she got one herself! Where did she get that money from?

I noticed a few hurried scrawls at the bottom of the paper:  _P.S. M_ _eet me in front of that ugly statue thing at the front of campus at 7:30 AM. You'd better be wearing your necklace when I see you. XOXO_

 I checked the time on my phone. 7:26. I quickly slipped the necklace over my head and made sure it was noticeably hanging outside my hoodie. I closed the box with both Chloe's notes inside them and placed it in my satchel, then made my way out the dorms to meet Chloe.

 

I found Chloe sitting at the edge of the tall fountain. It was truly a sight for sore eyes, her pristine blue hair complying to the breeze's gentle tugs this way and that; her warm blue gaze staring straight ahead, deep in thought; two of her slender fingers holding a glowing cigarette between them. I smiled fondly when I saw her, quickening my pace just to hear her voice sooner.

"Hey, Che," I greeted her while sliding in to sit next to her on the brick of the fountain. Chloe looked up at me, startled at first, but her face quickly transformed into a beaming one.

"Hi, Super Max!" she chirped. Her gaze trailed down to the pendant of the necklace that rested on my sternum, her grin widening. "You got your present!"

"Of course I did," I replied with a distant smile on my face. I fingered the pendant absentmindedly. "It's so beautiful, Chloe. Thanks so much."

"Anytime, Max," she said before pulling out her own necklace from one of the breast pockets of her trademark jacket. She slipped it over her head and on top of her bullet necklace, and her pendant came to rest on top of the middlemost bullet.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" I breathed as I reached out and ran my finger across it lightly. It was a bright blue butterfly studded with aquamarine crystals, catching the sun's waking rays and sparkling dazzlingly. 

"Isn't it? Hey, now we match, in some weird, metaphoric way," Chloe laughed a little. But I noticed how  _not_ talkative Chloe was being. How she seemed to be distant, not really  _there._ Her eyes constantly went out of focus, and her mouth lost its upward turn, instead taking on subtle frown.

After this happened a few times between bouts of conversation, I grew worried. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Chloe, look at me."

She did, but with some hesitation.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, Spider Max. I'm... I'm fine. But now that we're going to New York..." she trailed off, and as she raised the cigarette to her lips, the faraway look in her eyes returned.

"Are you being a chicken?" I teased her, poking her shoulder gently. She chuckled and shrugged me off.

"Hell no! I just feel like I'm..." she waved her hand in the air as if she were trying to gather the words she was looking for. "Like I'm leaving a piece of me behind here. And not just that. Like... I'm abandoning Rachel."

 My heart sank.  _Rachel._ I knew I shouldn't feel jealous, but I always felt like I was competing with Rachel for Chloe. _Rachel_ this, and  _Rachel_ that, and  _I wish Rachel were here._ Couldn't Chloe think of me sometimes? But I pushed those feelings to the back of my mind and returned my hand to her shoulder.

"Chloe... she would have wanted you to do this. You both wanted to get out of Arcadia, right? She'll be happy knowing that you followed your dreams, even if it wasn't with her. She wanted you to be happy."

I prayed that I'd said the right thing, and felt a rush of relief when Chloe gave me a grateful look.

"Thanks, Max. I just miss her sometimes, you know?" she said. Before I could reply, a call sounded behind me.

"Hey! Hey, Max!"

Chloe's gaze went behind me to see who it was, but I could already tell by the youthful, desperate tone who it was already. I noticed Chloe smirk as I placed a head in my hands exasperatedly.

"Max!" the voice was closer this time and directly to my right. It was breathing hard, almost wheezing.

 "Hi, Warren," I said into my hand. Chloe tried to stifle a laugh, but failed.

"I, uh, heard you were going to New York," he puffed. "Juliet told me."

"Yeah. I was gonna tell you. I swear, Warren. Sorry you heard it from her and not me." I chanced a look up at him to see his innocent face, a lot less battered than it had been weeks before. He had a hand rubbing the nape of his neck nervously. I wondered if he was going to tell me something important.

"So... will I see you again?" he asked timidly. 

"I... I honestly don't know," I replied genuinely. 

Warren advanced forward and sat on the brick of the fountain next to me. He leaned so close that I could smell his warm scent and the chocolate chip cookies on his breath. 

"I have to tell you something," he said, his voice all soft and gentle. Next to me, I felt Chloe stiffen. I leaned a few inches away from Warren so I could see his face better. His eyes were... pleading. Not warm, not friendly... but fiery, like he wanted something.

Before he could utter another word, I felt Chloe grab my hand and interlace our fingers together. She brought my hand up to her lips and kissed my hand gently. I was nonplussed and stared at her, dumbfounded, with my mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Warren gawked at her, agape as if he'd only just realized she was there.

"Well, wasn't that a mighty fine chat?" she said loudly, looking pointedly towards Warren with one eyebrow raised intimidatingly. She stubbed her cigarette out on the brick of the fountain, tossed the stub into the water to mingle with rusty coins, and got up, helping me up in the process. "Now, Max and I have to go to the  _girls'_ dorms to pick up her bag that she's spent _a lot of time_  packing because we're spending _a lot of time_ in New York. Together."

I blushed hard and noticed the twinkle of amusement in her eye. Warren was still staring at her, absolutely aghast at what he'd just seen. 

"Well, come on, Max! No time to lose!" she winked at me while pulling on the hand she was holding. We jogged the length of the campus to the entrance of the dorms, and once we were out of earshot, Chloe doubled over in laughter. I giggled a little too, but I rubbed the spot where Chloe's lips had touched my skin. It was still warm; like an afterimage of sorts.

 _"HAH!_ Max, did you  _see_ his face when I kissed you?! Oh, Christ! That was hilarious!" she guffawed. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter.

I knew that kiss was a joke. 

But I didn't want it to be - even if it  _was_ just a kiss on the hand.

"Wee-oo!" Chloe whistled. _"_ _That_ boy is  _not_ gonna be coming anywhere near you for the next century! Consider yourself rid of him. You're welcome!" Chloe's laughter dissolved into little chuckles, but then trickled off into silence as she noticed my thoughtful expression. 

"Hey, you cool?" she asked. I glanced at her for a second and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to ignore the concerned look Chloe was giving me. "Hey, we were supposed to be getting the bag that I spent  _a lot of time packing,_ remember?" I giggled and shoved her playfully. She laughed and pushed me back, and it was with more childish shoves and banter that we made our way to my dorm.

 

"Damn!" Chloe exclaimed as I opened the door to my dorm room for her. The room was stripped almost completely bare, all except for my Memorial Wall which I had planned to come collect at the end of the school year. Chloe was gandering at y rightmost wall - my Memorial Wall. "You took so many pictures ever since you came back to Arcadia, now your Memorial Wall takes up almost the whole wall!"

"Yeah," I chuckled and shut the door behind me. 

"I guess I just filled you to the brim with inspiration, eh?" she grinned while plopping down on my bed. She leaned back on her elbows,

"You wish!" I scoffed while moving to my desk near the window of the room. My single bag was propped up against the chair. It was simple and gray, not a single decoration on its clean casing. Probably the only thing  _un-_ hipster about me. Chloe seemed to notice this and laughed a bit. "I'm gonna have to help you hippify this thing, aren't I?" I rolled my eyes, kneeling down to the bag and unzipping it, riffling through the items to make sure I had everything. "I can't believe you just said 'hippify,'" I told her, chuckling. Her toned shoulders shook as she laughed with me, I noticed through my peripherals, and I longed to be able to touch her, to be able to run my fingers along her skin and to kiss her soft, smooth pink lips, to feel her warmth mingling with my own and becoming a part of me along with her sweet syrupy scent of pancakes and faint, bitter one of cigarettes, and-

"Earth to Maxaroni! Wake up!" 

Chloe was kneeling next to me, her perfect creamy hand and those sapphire nails shaking my shoulder gently. I started, meeting her fiery gaze. My insides turned into warm goo, my cheeks flaring with heat. I felt my eyes sting for no apparent reason. I bit my lip, seeing her knowing smirk and - wait.

_Are... are her cheeks pink?_

"Max."

The way she says my name makes my heart skip fifty beats each time.

"Yes?"

My voice was tiny and shaky. I cursed myself for sounding so feeble, even though I could see Chloe's countenance soften even more. My hands were shaking like hell and they were clammy, too, so I felt all the sirens go off in my body when Chloe took my hand. I could see my whole arm flushed red. Chloe's trademark smirk broadened and she leaned close to my ear, her soft and rusty voice ringing through my body and clanging against me like the clapper of a bell.

 "Better get finished so we can go, hm? Don't wanna be later than we already are."

_Chloe Price. You little-_

"R-right. You're right," I concurred automatically, mentally kicking myself for stuttering. I zipped my bag back up with shaky hands, as fast as I could at the moment. Chloe watched me with the infuriatingly smug smirk, and I thought for sure she knew what I was thinking in those seconds where my heart had ceased to exist in my chest and had instead tried to push up my throat and out of my mouth, trying to go where it belonged.

With my stunning, precious punk Chloe. 

 

 We left my room minutes later, locking it behind us. Making our way across the parking lot, I was lugging my bag behind me with both hands. It seemed very heavy even though I knew how to travel lightly, and definitely had packed lightly, too. The gravelly sound of the wheels of my bag scratching against the road filled the tense silence. 

At least, it was tense to me.

Chloe, on the other hand, had the hugest grin on her face. She was all teeth, her hands in her pockets and a spring in her step; she was striding widely, and it took two of my steps to match up with hers. I expected her to break into song at any minute, so glowing was she. I considered asking her about it but when I opened my mouth to speak, my throat sealed shut. I closed my mouth and licked my lips, noticing they had suddenly gone dry.

When we reached Chloe's truck, she turned to me and held out her hand expectantly. I looked up at her, confused.

"Bag, Maxipad. Hand it over," she snickered, and I pretended to glare at her as I handed it over. The almost-glare faltered, though, as I felt Chloe's fingers brush against mine. I met her gaze accidentally long enough to see that infuriating, stupid grin on her face. As if she were testing me.  _She did that on purpose! The little minx._ I cursed her lovingly in my mind, finding a little smile on my own lips. My fingertips burned where she touched them. I stroked them absentmindedly, staring intently at the truck's tire, not noticing that after Chloe hauled my bag into the truck bed next to her belongings how she tied down the tarp all by herself when she saw I wasn't paying attention, or how when she finished with that she just turned, crossed her arms in front of her  chest, leaned against the truck, and grinned at me. I didn't notice it for a full minute when I was jerked out of my thoughts by Brooke's drone zooming by, and I looked up at her, my ears and face and neck immediately flushing scarlet. Chloe chuckled and gestured with her head to the door of the truck. "Shall we, Super Max?"

I quickly regained my mental footing and smiled up at her as she slung an arm around my shoulders, leading me to my door and opening it for me. 

"Yes, we shall."

✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

 

Two hours into the drive and the cute little nerd next to me fell asleep. Her shoulders were hunched, her head rested against the window. Her eyes were shut gently and her lips were slightly parted, gently moving around weak words here and there as she dreamed. I looked at her, my hands rested on the wheel, and smiled a half smile.  _What a cutie._ Her long eyelashes were definitely something to be admired. As were the smatterings of freckles dappled across her smooth, toned cheekbones, the gentle curve of her jaw, the perfect dip and weave of her lips. Soft, plump lips that I longed for and _had_ longed for ever since I was thirteen. Maybe younger.  _Probably_ younger. I just knew that I loved her. 

And so what was that whole scene in Max's dorm? She had been redder than a tomato. Each sentence had seemed to be a minefield to her, as if she had to be careful with what she said. As if every word were a bomb waiting to explode if not tread upon carefully enough.

Suddenly, there was a loud, screaming honk from another car as the nose of my truck started drifting into the lane next to ours. I gasped sharply, my attention snapping lightning fast back to the road, and I swerved nearly clean off the lane. I steadied the truck just as quickly, however, and breathed a huge sigh of relief, checking Max in my peripherals just to make sure I hadn't woken her up. Her sleeping face relieved me further and I settled back down in my seat, my eyes trained on the road in front of me. A pothole ahead. I turned the wheel strategically so that Max could sleep undisturbed. 

This cycle of avoiding potholes, checking on Max, and the occasional chaotic veer continued for the next three hours. Max still hadn't woken up when I pulled into the nearest gas station to rest and to fill up the gas tank. I shut off the engine and stepped out of the car, shutting the door and stretching eagerly. My bones popped in that satisfying way and I rolled my shoulders, shutting my eyes and savoring the feeling. With a heavy sigh, I crossed the dirty, gum-ridden concrete to the shiny doors of the gas station, plastered all over with bold advertisements of sodas and snacks. I waltzed up to the coffee making station and expertly made two cups of it; the first, for Max, black coffee, dark and musky. I smiled as I made it, the thought of Max's soft, tired hands wrapping around the warm cup, tipping it up so she could sip from it, making my face glow. The second cup, for me, had cool creamer and sugar splashed and stirred inside it with hands that could have been Joyce's.

The coffee here was free with a purchase so I picked up a box of chocolate chip cookies for Max, which I knew she liked. As I stepped back out into the warm afternoon air, I moved back towards the truck and leaned into the lowered window of the driver's seat just to see Max stretching and blinking awake. I smiled warmly at the sight, holding out her cup of coffee and the box of cookies for her. I reached over and placed my cup in the cup holder.

"Wakey wakey, Spider Max. I got you a present," I greeted her, and she rubbed away the sleep from her eyes and said a sleepy "Thank you" before taking both items, the box of cookies rested in her lap and the coffee just on top, both her hands wrapped around the cup as I'd predicted. She sipped it and hummed in content, her eyes shutting again as she rested her head on the headrest of the seat. I chuckled.

"Don't die on me, girl. I need you," I teased. But I realized just how much that last sentence was true; how much I  _did_  need Max in my life. How much I cared for her more than anyone else and how I'd die for her, but more importantly, I'd  _live_ for her. And I  _was_ living for her, right this second. Every minute and every day and every hour was spent with intense longing. Every-

_Jesus. I sound like that bitch Warren._

I had turned away from the window a few moments ago to pay for the gas, opening up the tank and sticking the fuel dispenser pump inside it. It glugged silently and I turned back to Max, bracing my arms against the cool surface of the window. "Didja sleep well?" I asked her, and she looked up at me gratefully.

"Yes. Very. Thanks to your epic driving skills," she laughed, and I could still hear the sleep coating her voice. So cute.

"Well, I nearly got into a crash about eleven times, so, not that epic." I grinned at her, my face warming. She gazed back at me, a sweet, tired smile dancing on her face.

And suddenly, a cookie was shoved in my mouth.

"Ackpth!" I yelped, staggering backwards, hearing Max's mischievous giggles. The sound raised hell in my heart, making it flutter, but I did my best to glare at her, chewing the cookie and holding the broken off part.

"What? Don't give me that look. The driver always gets the first cookie," Max laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Little weirdo," I teased, going to the side of the truck again to replace the pump and close the gas tank. I opened the door again and slid inside, munching on the rest of my cookie. Max was sitting up straighter and seemed to be more alert, and I smiled absently at the wheel as I started the car again. "Ready to go? Or did you want to take a walk?" I asked her, suddenly realizing that she hadn't moved from her spot for five hours.

"Nah, I'm cool just being lazy here," she yawned. I chuckled. 

"You do you."

I pulled out of the gas station and set off with Max again with our heads bowed towards our destination, the tires of my truck rumbling richly against the tar road. I reached into the cup holder where I'd placed my cup of coffee and sip it, letting the energy filter through me.

_Get ready for Max and Chloe, bitches._


	6. Strawberries and Whipped Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I tried to get it out as fast as I could, but life happens, y'know? :c Anyway, thanks so much for reading. 
> 
> I hope you stick around!
> 
> P.S.: This chapter may be really sappy because I was listening to Time by Hans Zimmer and the arrangement of City of Stars by Jacob Koller. c': Sorrynotsorry.
> 
> Definitely check those songs out, though. They're awesome ^^

✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

As we slipped out of Oregon, trundling into Idaho and making a stop just as we were about to exit the state's weighty bottom, Max woke up for the fifth time. I chuckled as she blinked her eyes open confusedly each time, looking at her for only a moment before returning my attention to the road. "What a lazy ass," I teased her lovingly now, pulling into the parking lot of some hotel, and she scoffed, rubbing her eyes.

"Says the one who purposely got herself expelled from school and doesn't do anything all day," she retorted, that familiar sleepy tone still lingering in her voice.

_"Also_ says the one who's been driving you for ten hours straight without falling asleep!" I laughed, and she chuckled tiredly.

"Alright, alright, madame chauffeur. You win this one. But only because I just woke up!"

“Also because I’m right!” I snickered, shutting off the engine and retrieving the keys. I shoved them into my pocket as I stepped out of the car, Max following suit. We both made for the truck bed and lifted off the tarp, and as Max reached for her bag, I grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, we’re only staying here a night. Shouldn’t we make it easier on us and just take one bag?” I gave her a little lopsided smile as I lifted out one of my bags, patting the frontmost pocket. “I packed an extra toothbrush, and you can use some of my clothes for pajamas.”

Max seemed a little nervous (Dog knows why, as she’d say) but she caved in, and we tied down the tarp again. We walked into the hotel together and while I approached the receptionist to buy a room, Max explored the lobby. I smiled as I watched her for a second before turning back to the receptionist, giving him a warm, greeting smile.

 

✴ℳ✴

* * *

 

I looked around the smallish space, rubbing the lingering sleep out of my eyes. I was still a little groggy but I managed to cross the cream-colored room to the spa water dispenser next to a short rectangular pillar whose paint was flaking off. I took one of the small plastic cups next to the dispenser and filled it up, the condensation already forming on its sides. I tiptoed up to where Chloe was speaking to the receptionist, discreetly placing it next to her. She smiled gratefully at me and took a sip of it, returning to talking with the man behind the counter. I smiled and stepped back to the water dispenser, filling a cup for myself now and drinking deeply. The cool water ran through me, making me shiver a little, but it still helped me feel a little less groggy. After I threw away the cup, I took the moment to walk around a little and look at the decent place. The walls were chipping a little and the sofa in front of the unlit fire seemed to be a little scratched, but other than that, the place seemed quite nice. The hearth was made of old-looking bricks, and as I neared it, the still-hot scent of soot filled my nostrils. The fire had been put out recently.

A look to my left revealed what appeared to be the breakfast area, completely bare as of now because it was nighttime. The only thing on the smooth counters, pressed against the wall, was the 24/7 coffee machine.

“Boo-yah!”

An oh-so familiar voice sounded behind me as a pair of hands smacked down on my shoulders. I jumped, jerked out of thought, and whipped around to see Chloe’s mischievous grin.

“Chloe!” I scolded her gently, but I was grinning widely. Her hands on my shoulders had sent fire jolting my nerves and it had seemed as if sparks had flown from her fingertips. It made me feel all giddy inside. I liked that feeling. I wanted to feel it again.

Chloe ignored my chastising and waved our new room card in my face. “Come on! Your faithful chauffeur and companion is sleepy!”

I laughed a little and instinctively tucked my hands into the crook of her arm, clinging onto her. She was warm and comforting as ever. I shut my eyes. Her scent mingled with my own and if I had been looking up at her, I would have seen the fond smile she was giving me.

“Look like Maxaroni’s sleepy too, huh? Weirdo. You were asleep the whole time I was driving,” she teased gently as we started to make our way along to the elevator. I scoffed and playfully pushed her away.

“You jerk!” I giggled.

“You know it’s true!” she laughed, and we stepped into the elevator. Chloe pressed a button with dark print and the number three on it, and it lit up all golden and honeyed under her touch. The button reminded me of myself.

We stood in the elevator silently, and as it shifted upwards slowly, it jerked once. I grabbed Chloe’s hand and she chuckled softly, pulling me flush against her side. As I settled into her, the elevator resumed its slow and steady pace, the cables and pulleys able to be heard turning and creaking. I nearly fell asleep right then and there, cuddled closely against the warmth of Chloe’s canvas of a body, and she very nearly had to drag me out of the elevator doors as they slid open. My eyes were drooping as I became distinctly aware of her soothing presence only by touch and smell, and I was vaguely conscious of the warm arm she had wrapped comfortably around my waist.

For a moment - a minute, a perfect minute - my dreams mingled with my reality as sleep began to envelop my brain. With Chloe’s arm pressed so casually into my side, as if it were natural to her, as if it were perfect, my dreams and fantasies seeped into consciousness, providing one single pulsing thought in my head --

 

_Chloe. Chloe loves me. We’re together._

✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

Max seemed to melt like cotton candy in my hold. You know what I mean? When you tear off a small piece of cotton candy and place it on your tongue and it just dissolves into syrupy sugar, melting away into nothing. That’s how Max felt to me, pressed up against my body as a bundle of tired warmth, her invisible blood slipping past her delicate skin like wind and wreathing through my own. And her scent - oh, she smelled so perfect. Like roses. Actual roses, not the perfumey kind. Roses dappled with morning dew? - yes, that’s the perfect description. Morning roses and s’mores being roasted by a campfire and hot chocolate but mostly strawberries and fluffy whipped cream. Her scent was soaked with saccharine. She smelled like home.

“Max?” I asked her softly as I slipped the keycard into the slot, and the tiny lights on the slot flashed green. I opened the door and helped Max in, who was asleep on her feet. I laughed softly as I looked at her face, closing the door. Her eyes were half closed, her lips pressed into a soft pout. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her hand gripped weakly at my arm, her fingers making me tingle. A small sound escaped her puckered lips. Nothing more. I laughed again, leaning down to brace my arms against the backs of her knees and her back to scoop her up bridal style, and she murmured something. I could have sworn the edges of her lips twitched upwards in a smile.

“Wakey wakey, Maxi Pad,” I chuckled a little as I set her on her rear on the bed. She swayed a little before collapsing on her back on the bed, releasing a snore with such gravity that  it made me start. I didn’t know such a tiny person could emit such a sound. I laughed, shaking her shoulder a little bit.

“Come on. Or did you want me to change your clothes for you…?” I teased, and suddenly, her eyes shot open. Her face was bright scarlet and she leaped off the bed with newfound energy, scrambling over to the bag with my clothes, slamming it open, grabbing a shirt and the extra toothbrush and the toothpaste and some sweatpants, and running into the bathroom.

I collapsed laughing on the bed, clutching my sides, and I heard Max release a frustrated _‘Chloe!’_ in the bathroom, which only made me laugh harder.

A few moments later, I heard the shower turn on and water begin to run. I got up from the bed and strode over to the suitcase which Max had left open. _Too fuckin’ lazy to take a shower,_ I grumbled in my head, picking out my Rock Chick shirt and some boxers. I stripped myself of my clothes and pulled on the pajamas, putting the heap of clothes in the plastic laundry bag provided by the hotel. Stepping back to the bag, I reached into one of the smaller mesh pockets and pulled out a small book: _The Handmaid’s Tale_ by Margaret Atwood. Despite my being expelled from school, I still enjoyed the occasional novel, preferably from the speculative fiction side of things. I settled on the bed and slipped under the covers, reaching to my left to switch on the lamp on the nightstand. Atwood’s writing was vivid and worked wonders on my restless nerves.

And right now, my nerves were far from at rest.

The reality of it all hit me like a truck all at once. Max had actually _agreed_ to go to someplace across the goddamned country with me, for an indefinite amount of time. Max had wanted to do this with me. She wanted… to be with… me?

_Don’t get your hopes up, Price,_ I warned myself, listening longingly to the sound of cascading water behind the walls. In my mind, I visualized her standing in the warm stream of water, the water sliding and rolling gracefully down her creamy skin just like water slipping off a swan’s feathers without hitch, tracing the gentle curve of her chest and her waist and her hips.

I stopped imagining after a moment longer, realizing I had read and reread the same sentence of the book over fifteen times by now.

_Fuck you, brain. You are such a creep._

I sighed and tried to return to the book, but my mind kept wandering back to Max. I was still thinking about her as the steady sound of water falling stopped; was still thinking about her as there was a faint rustling, indicating that she was getting a towel; was still thinking about her as I heard her turning on the blow dryer; was still thinking about her when there were more scuffling noises as she pulled on my clothes; was still thinking about her as I heard her brushing her teeth; was still thinking about her when she opened the door tentatively and tiptoed out, glancing at me and smiling.

“Took you long enough,” I teased, looking up at her from my book as if I had been reading it in the first place. She simply rolled her eyes and laughed, coming over to the other side of the bed and slipping under the sheets next to me. I noticed with a twinge of concern that she seemed to be breathing slightly shallowly, but it was silent, as if she were trying not to alert me of this condition. I decided not to ask her about it; I knew how embarrassed she could be about certain things. Nonetheless, I was slightly concerned, even if there didn’t seem to be something immediately wrong.

But I felt my own breaths starting to quicken a little. Having Max in such close proximity - and on a bed, too! - was making me a little nervous. Though I wouldn’t admit that to her in a million years, nope!

Max looked over at me and at the book I was reading, lifting her hand to her mouth in mock surprise.

“Is- is that-?” she gasped melodramatically. “Is that a _book?_ In Chloe E. Price’s hands?! Why, that’s unheard of! This is breaking news-!”

“Alright, alright, smartass. Tone it down, or you might blow my cover.” I laughed at my own joke, and Max playfully slapped my shoulder.

“Same old Che,” she giggled, the sound not unlike tinkling little Christmas bells. I smiled warmly, looking back down to my book and then at the digital clock on the nightstand, which displayed the time - 9:37 - in blocky red numbers. I swung my legs over the side of the bed to put my book back into my bag, picking out my toothbrush and the small tube of toothpaste which Max had returned to its place. “We’d better get to sleep soon,” I told her, pausing at the door to the bathroom to give her a small smile. “We have a lot of driving ahead of us.”

She grinned back at me, nodding. I noted how elegant her hair looked even when it was still slightly damp. I turned away before it would seem like I was ogling and shut the bathroom door, crossing over to the sink.

✴ℳ✴

* * *

 

As soon as Chloe disappeared into the bathroom, I stopped breathing so shallowly. I had been trying not to inhale her warm, suffocating scent that was emanating from her clothes because I knew my words would start to trip over themselves and my thoughts would become a jumble.

Chloe’s shirt and pants released the smell just like her - the vanilla, the cigarettes, the pancakes - it was all there. I swallowed thickly. The knowledge that Chloe had touched these clothes made them all the more precious to me. I felt so creepy.

I fidgeted with my hands and thought of her.

_Do her lips taste sweet like they did in my dream?_

I wanted to find out.

_Do her eyes twinkle like oceans of little stars like that when she looks at anyone other than me?_

I wanted to find out.

_Will her hair twirl around my fingers so smoothly as it seems they will?_

I wanted to find out.

_Is she my home?_

I knew. I knew the answer to that one.

_Yes. Yes, a million times over._

✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

I finished brushing my teeth and stepped back into the room, replacing the toothbrush and the toothpaste. I was about to ask Max if she was ready to go to bed when I saw her asleep once more, turned away from my pillow with her small frame tucked beneath the sheets. I smiled a little and crossed the room to the bed, sliding underneath the covers with her. I reached over and switched off the bedside lamp, snuggling up under the covers and sighing softly in content. I lifted my arms behind my head and stared at the smooth white plaster of the ceiling, falling asleep not moments later.

 

I awoke not too long afterwards, and it was still dark outside. Something in the thinness of the air told me it was still the dead of night.

Max was snoring gently next to me; little baby snores that couldn’t have interrupted a doe from its slumber. I smiled softly, and in the insanity of half-consciousness, turned over on my side and pulled her back close to my front, my arm curled around her waist. She was warm and my clothes didn’t seem to mask her sweet scent one bit. The dominating aroma of strawberries and whipped cream was still there, and the faint undertone of morning roses and s’mores and hot chocolate. I buried my nose in her hair and breathed it all in, falling asleep again almost instantly. Everything felt so perfect.

✴ℳ✴

* * *

 

That night, I dreamed Chloe was holding me against her in the moonlight.

Her eyes never shone brighter.


	7. The Fuckin' Ritz (Kind Of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair continue their journey, finally reaching New York City, and have a fun time on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Note: Spoilers about Rachel.
> 
> You guys, I can't apologize enough for how long this chapter has taken to get out there. "No excuse, I'm a loser." Things have just been really awful lately, and I hate to pull that card, but it's making it really hard to do anything. I want to continue this story as much as you (hopefully) want to read it. I hope you can forgive me.
> 
> I honestly can't express how dear this story is to me. I started it waaay back when, in my prime, and I had many visions of having so much fun writing it during the winter. Sadly, such dreams did not come true, two years ago. But they will at some point in the future, and hopefully, when they do, I'll be able to please your eyeballs with some Pricefield.
> 
> So, in no way will this story be abandoned. That's a promise!

  
✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

I woke up again when it was still dark. Max's body still rose gently beneath my arms as she breathed. Soft. Doe-like.

 

 _Wait a minute..._ _._

 

My eyes shot open. As fast as I could without waking her, I removed my hand from around her waist, but not before realizing that in her sleep she had taken hold of my hand and pressed it against her cheek. I thought nothing of it at the time. It was probably a dream she was having. How could it be more? How could this gorgeous doe beneath me love a deadbeat dropout like... me?

Yet, I subconsciously began to think about that time, late in the night, when I had crept before Max's room in the dorm to lay her present down in front of her door... and I had heard her making soft, intimate sounds inside, whimpering my name as if I were a gift. How I had taken that as an allowance for me, leaning weak-kneed from love against her door, to take care of my sudden arousal, and regretted it later, subsequently swearing to my heart of hearts never to do it again. 

I shook off the thought as a dog shakes water from its pelt.  _Just another dream she was having, probably._ I didn't want to get too hopeful.

i crawled out of the bed, not really understanding the defeated feeling welling up inside me. It opened up slowly, and on my heart, like the wet wings of a butterfly. Open. Close. Open. Cold little feet placed delicately on my slow-pumping organ turned my heart blue. I shivered again, shaking the butterfly off, burning with silent resentment. Another glance toward Max's fuzzy-lined sleeping figure made the butterfly disappear in a flash of blue, and my heart turned warm and red again. 

_Max. My savior._

Smiling fondly in the dark morning haze, I glanced at the clock with its sharp red numbers. It was barely two o'clock, so I decided to take a shower, hoping not to wake Max up.

 

✴ℳ✴ 

* * *

 

I woke up to the feeling of Chloe's hands gently shaking my shoulder.

"Max.  _Max._ Earth to Maxipad!" came Chloe's voice, tearing open the wispy clouds of my dream. I blinked open my eyes, grumbling my annoyance.

"Go 'way, Chloe." I turned onto my other side, away from her.

There was a soft sound of beauty in the form of her chuckle.

"Get up so we eat some waffles!"

I saw clearly in my mind, even though my eyes were closed and my head was turned away from her, the image of her tilting her face slightly to the side, the half-smile on her face, and her eyes looking at me as if I were a gift. I had seen that face so many times when I hadn't wanted to get out of bed when we were younger. And sometimes (most of the time, actually), I was the one who was giving her the half-smile-morning-chuckle. My throat was suddenly stopped up with nostalgia. I turned back to her, trying to restore the playfulness in my face by sticking my tongue out at her. "Only if you get me some coffee."

 "Only in your dreams, Caulfield. Unless...." There was a little pause in which Chloe leaned closer to me, wiggling her eyebrows. "Unless I have to  _tickle_ you!"

I gasped playfully shielding my body with my hands. "No!"

"Yes!"

"N-" Before I could finish protesting, she tackled me onto the bed, laughing and tickling me mercilessly. "Ch-Chloe! Stahp!"

"Not until you say you'll come get waffles with me!"

"O-okay! I'll get waffles with you!" I mustered through giggles, trying to catch my breath as her hands left my stomach. She grinned at me for a moment, and her eyes looked so sincere for a moment, but only a moment, because she got up and turned away. 

"That's what I thought. Now, hurry up and get dressed. A girl's gotta eat."

I suppressed a little sigh, chuckling fondly. "Aye aye, Captain."

  
✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

It wasn't long after that that we took off again (of course, not before smuggling lots of hotel snacks into the truck). Chloe never tired of driving, which was amazing to me. I was awake this time, and I was talking to her a lot. The conversations we had were mostly superficial. But I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted to be closer to her. I wanted to keep her awake so she wouldn't crash the fucking car. 

"So," I began after a small lull in conversation, "had you been planning this before?"

She knew exactly what I meant. "Duh, Max. You know that. That's, like, the first thing I told you when you first came back," she laughed.

"No, I meant with me, ya big doof."

"Mm..." Chloe hummed, pausing for a moment to focus while taking an exit. "I think it was probably by the end of the week that you came back...? Yeah, that's it." She turned and smiled at me. "I sure do wonder why, dork."

"Probably because I saved your ass, like, five million times!" I said, and we laughed in a rueful sort of way. And then there was a silence.

"That week was... yeah, wasn't it?" I heard her murmur, half to herself. She was smiling softly, but it was also filled with such remorse and I knew why. Rachel. 

She still loved Rachel! I didn't know why I was surprised. How could  _I_ compete with Chloe's angel, her love, her star? And she had something I didn't - she was  _gorgeous._ Everyone knew that. Anyone who saw that photo in Chloe's room would know that Rachel had a face that could launch a thousand ships. And I hated that I was jealous of her beauty and her power over Chloe. And what I hated even more was the fact that she was dead.

When Chloe saw Rachel submerged in the ground, her pretty body caked in mud and grit and worms, I saw Chloe's love for her increase tenfold. And her sobs which racked her body only confirmed that. I wanted that love. I wanted her to burn for me as she did for Rachel. Rachel consumed Chloe. Rachel was omnipotent.

What's more, Chloe's response to my question only proved further that she thought of Rachel more than she thought of me. _I think it was probably by the end of the week that you came back...._ Her words reminded me of my own flaws.  _I'm over-analyzing this. Be happy. At least she_ wants  _to be with you._ And I forced myself to try and be happy. My joy swelled like a balloon. It swelled too far and burst. The air that had been trapped inside diffused through the sky, and the remnants of the balloon floated sadly to the ground. Rachel made me sad.

_But I still wish I had met her._

"It sure was, Che."

 

We stopped talking, and Chloe told me it was okay if I took a nap. So I did, and when I woke up, we were parked on the side of the road in the middle of a desert.

Chloe was nowhere in sight.

I shot up, pressing my hands against the glass to see where on earth she could have gone. The sun outside was setting below the horizon, and the sparse grass that surrounded us was being tinged a bloody red by the light. It looked as if we were in the middle of some sort of desert, and since it was late evening, the window was cool to the touch, a frosty outline already forming around my fingers. My hurried breath fogged up the glass. "Chloe...?" I whispered to myself.  _Where are we...?_

Suddenly, the car shook as a smiling face appeared at the window, its hands slamming on the other side of the glass. Chloe. _"BOO!"_ she snickered, and I jumped back, my heart racing a mile a minute, but I'm grinning from ear to ear. Chloe opened the door. She was doubled over in laughter.

"Your  _face!"_ she choked between bouts of giggling. "Oh my god!  _Priceless!"_

"Shut up, you meanie!" I laughed, climbing out of the car and stretching my unused muscles. She was still grinning at me. 

"What are we doing out here?" I asked, pretending to seem annoyed. She saw right through the facade. 

"Glad you asked, Caulfield! I decided it might be a little harsh to let a prissy little city girl like you sleep inside my humble truck-"

"Hey!"

"-so I decided to fix you up a makeshift bed!" Chloe finished and began walking backwards, gesturing towards the bed of the truck. I rolled my eyes and followed her to where she was beaming proudly. The bed was covered in three thick blankets, one for the "mattress" and two for sleeping underneath. Two pillows looked carefully fluffed up and soft. I clapped sarcastically.

"Impressive. Bra _VO._ This... I sure do feel as if I'm in the Ritz right now," I teased. She groaned.

"I am  _so_ going to hit you. Besides, the best part hasn't even arrived yet. But it's coming soon! Give it a few minutes!" she assured me while climbing into the "Ritz," covering herself with the sheets. She placed her hands beneath her head, She motioned for me to do the same, so I did, settling cozily next to her.

"What is it? A tumbleweed?" 

"Oh my god, Caulfield. Shaddap." 

We waited two minutes before it happened.

"It's coming..." Chloe murmured, "right about... now!"

"Where is it?" 

"Up there." She pointed at the sky. I followed her finger.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon. The sky turned from scarlet to purple to blue to navy, and I understood what Chloe was trying to get me to see.  _The stars!_ They peeked out and speckled the sky humbly. They were so bright, brighter than I had ever known. And the sky was fat with them! All of the little white lights hung thick and low and wet, and they looked as if you could taste them, like small snowflakes. I was awestruck. It was lovely. 

"It's gorgeous, Chloe..."

"It is, isn't it?" she murmured. I looked at her, and she was looking at me. Her head was propped up on her elbow. The outline of her body was traced by the sheets. Infinity was reflected in her eyes. I saw cities and I saw space. I saw beauty. And I saw me.

And somehow I knew she hadn't seen at the sky at all.

I lay my head down on my pillow and tried to look back at the sky. Chloe turned onto her back and chuckled quietly.

"Are you laughing at me?" I pouted playfully. She laughed again, louder, and picked up my hand, holding it up against the stars.

"Of course not, Maxaroni!" she grinned, closing one eye and using my hand to frame made-up constellations in the sky.

"Then  how come you laughed?" I watched her do this out of the corner of my eye. She was adorable. 

 _"That's_ a secret."

"What?!"

"Yeah!" she snickered, placing my hand between us again and looking at me.

"Ugh, now I'm gonna be wondering why you laughed at me for the rest of my life." I pouted again and pretended to be mad.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough."

 "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

There was quiet. I began to shut my eyes. I was finally falling asleep when I heard her again, softer. Her voice was turned to me. 

"Sooner than you think."

 

* * *

 

 

There weren't too many other things that happened after that. We continued driving for a long time, and I remember looking out the window long at hard at everything that was passing by. I knew I was going to treasure this trip forever, no matter what the future held. 

 But before I knew it, there we were, and the skyline was stretching out above and around us, the lights twinkling like little stars, and the Brooklyn Bridge looked like a great steely creature of beauty and wisdom.

"We made it, Max!" Chloe laughed, giving the car a few celebratory honks, much to the annoyance of the driver in front of us.

I laughed, too. "Yes! And we made it without you crashing the car!"

"Hey!"

 We pulled into the bustling of the city. It was late evening, and it was a deep, dark blue the surrounded us. I was enthralled; it was everything I had imagined. I pressed my nose to the window and looked long and hard at everything until the window fogged up from my warm breath. I had been to cities before - lived in Seattle for five years - but nothing like New York had enraptured me so, nor had I ever been any place like this with Chloe.

When I had enough of looking, I turned to Chloe, trying not to show my breathless excitement. "Where are we staying?"

Of course, being my best friend, she saw how happy I was and grinned, but she didn't say anything. "Oh, you'll see."

 "Whaaat? You can't leave me with an 'oh, you'll see!'"

"Watch me, Maxipad!"

"Hmph." I crossed my arms in mock indignation and pouted.

"Don't be a baby! It's close!"

She was right. But as soon as we got near, she said, "Okay, cover your eyes."

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"Ugh, fine.... But since I'm complying, I call dibs on the minibar."

"What-?! Oh, whatever."

I chuckled and covered my eyes with my hands, feeling the car slowing down and coming to a stop. She got the bags and told me to hold onto her arm so she could lead me. I complied, and we walked, with my eyes still covered, to wherever it was we were going. We got to a stop.

"Okay... now open!"

I opened my eyes and gasped.

Because what was towering in front of me was the fucking Plaza.

"Nuh-uh. Nope. Okay. What?" I babbled before looking at Chloe for confirmation that she wasn't playing a joke on me. She nodded, grinning widely. And I swear I almost screamed.  _"How are we paying for this!"_   I whisper-shouted at her, and I was half-joking.

"Well," she laughed, "that's a secret which shall be revealed when we get in!" She was beaming so brightly. I hadn't seen her smiling like that for a while.

 And so we hurried in, and I was awestruck. Everything was so high-ceilinged and golden. "Chloe, it's perfect!" I couldn't help but blurt out. 

"Only the best for my Maxaroni!"

I turned pink at the word "my" and tackled her in a big hug. I felt her chuckle warmly and wrap her arms around me. "As much as I love this, we should probably go get the room key, 'cause people are staring."

I grinned and obliged. As we were getting our room sorted out, I looked around the place again and realized how out of place Chloe and I looked, with our slightly crumpled clothes and disheveled hair. But then I thought of the soft, warm bed, hot breakfasts, and warm baths ahead of us, and whatever anxiety I felt melted away. Besides, it all felt better with Chloe.

"Max, you are going to love this room as much as I love strip clubs and donuts," Chloe said, that familiar mischievous grin on her face again as she waved the room key with a flourish.

"Oh, really? I hope it's at least better than that 'hotel' you set up for me way back in the desert."

"Eat me. But you're gonna be sorry you said anything when you see it."

To the elevator, twentieth floor. I could barely contain my excitement. I was bouncing on my heels.

 Chloe unlocked the door to the room, but held the doorknob. "Well, Maxaroni, any last words before you die and go to heaven?"

"Oh, just open the door, you drama queen."

She grinned and shrugged. "It was worth a shot. Welcome, Max, to -"

She swung the door open.

_" - the Grand Penthouse!"_

"Oh. My. Dog."

 


	8. Atonement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Max and Chloe's first night in New York, but it isn't going too well so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short one for you guys. New York adventures will start soon!

_✴ℭ✴_

* * *

 

_"What?!"_

 Okay. Okay, this is not going well.

We were in the hotel suite. I was sitting next to Max on the soft blue loveseat, and the tall, white walls around us were covered in gilded paintings. It was amazing to be able to share this with my best friend; it had been a dream of mine for so long, to be able to have one-on-one time with her like this. But it was more than that; it was making up for the five years she had spent away.

But right now, it was being marred by something seemingly trivial. We had just entered the ginormous suite, which again roused the question -  _How did you pay for this?_ \- and Max had  _not_ liked the answer.

"How could you willingly accept money from  _Nathan Prescott,_ of all people?"

"Max, it's not that simple -"

"I don't care! How could you do this?"

I exhaled and tried to slow down my heartbeat. Max never usually got angry with me. The only other times had been when we were small, over small social squabbles. This felt different. But I knew if I got angry too, it would only make things worse. Besides, there was too much that had happened that horrible week. Too much Max went through. She didn't need to hear me yell at her, not after that. I figured if I took her anger, maybe she would feel better later.

"I'm sorry, Max, I just-"

"How long has he been giving you this money?"

 I didn't answer her. 

She stood up, and there was a rising tone of fury in her voice, even though her voice became softer. "How long, Chloe?"

 "A few weeks."

"Oh, god-"

"No, no, Max, listen! He's changed! He's trying to repent! He's giving me money help to try and say sorry."

"I don't fucking care! How can you talk to him after what he did to you, and what he did me, and what he did to- to-"

Her voice broke. She buried her face in her hands; her shoulders shook. I knew what she was about to say, and my eyes welled up.

"Max..."

"No - no. I don't want to hear it. I'm getting ready to go to bed." She walked away to one of the bathrooms and slammed the door behind her. My heart throbbed forlornly; there was nothing I felt I could do. I sighed and collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. It was then that I felt the tiredness from the hours of driving I had just finished. I groaned and went to the separate bathroom, managing to take a shower and dry off. When I changed into my pajamas, I stepped into the corridor and swallowed thickly. I walked to Max's room and knocked on the door softly.

"Go away," her voice called out, but I was no stranger to the undertone of strain in her voice. She had been crying. The thought made a lump form in my throat.

"Okay..." I responded gently, but loudly enough for her to hear, "I just wanted to say good night."

There wasn't a response. I walked back to my room and plopped down on the bed with fatigue, rubbing my face and kicking off my shoes. I buried my face in the pillows and tried to force down tears. If Max had been anyone else, I would've yelled at her right back. But she was just too precious. And even now, her anger felt precious to me. I wanted to hold her, but it would hurt too much if she pushed me away. I couldn't handle that again. Not after....

The thought drifted away. I fell asleep within seconds.

 

* * *

 

 

The sound of my door creaking open jerked me awake. A silhouetted figure appeared in the hallway, with a distinct shape I had studied often. Max's hand was loosely gripping her little teddy bear, Captain, by the arm, and the other was at her face, rubbing her eyes sleepily. The image was so sweet and innocent; I sat up in bed. "Yes, Maxaroni?" I said, still half-asleep, not quite remembering the fight from hours before.

"I... got scared..." she said quietly, looking down at her feet and shuffling timidly. "So I couldn't sleep...."

I smiled fondly.  _So precious...._

"I'm right here, Max. Come sleep with me." I patted the space next to me.

"Thanks," she murmured, closing the door and crawling into bed with me. She cuddled Captain to her chest, but she was shivering. I scooted close to her and pulled her into my arms. I heard her sigh contentedly, snuggling close.

"I'm so sorry, Max..." I said, rubbing her back gently.

"No, I am."

I didn't say anything, just held her tighter. Her sweet breath felt like fire against my chest. I hoped she couldn't hear how quickly my heart was beating, and how my breathing had quickened; I was completely awake now.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," I heard her murmur after several minutes, which startled me, because I had assumed she had fallen asleep.

"Max... it's okay."

"No, it's not," she said with a little more strength, and she sat up. I propped myself up on my elbow to look at her better. I saw the soft lights filtering in from the window settling on her face. They pulled at her freckles, her eyes, her lips. I had the urge to sit up with her and shield her from it, to make her my own, to pull her down on top of me so her hair fell around my face, creating a little shelter from the world. I felt the need to slip my fingers up her pajama shirt and trace the long, swooping crest of her spine with my thumb, and to kiss her cheekbone, and down her face, along her neck, to that one little freckle to the left of her delicate throat. I swallowed thickly. How perfectly her face would fit in my palms, like an island sleeping on milky sand. Tremendous love filled me. Not fiery, like how I felt for Rachel, but gentle, more maternal, and more perfect. I didn't want to share her with the lights, or the stars.

 _You are so beautiful,_ I heard a more courageous version of me whisper in my head.  _So beautiful... so beautiful..._

"It wasn't fair to treat you like that," she said. "You went through so much these past five years, too, and  _that_ week... I can't forget that."

I couldn't hear her. I could only hear the imaginary sound of her small, content humming as she pressed against my body, the warmth of her stomach meeting my own. Her warm breaths filling my ears, her pants, her little moans.

_She's mine._

A pot of fury was being stirred in my stomach; I thought to the day we were leaving, when Warren had come to the fountain to tell Max "something." I was not about to let him take her from me. Max had an awful inhibition to indulge a person even if she did not want to. I knew she wouldn't be able to say no. So I acted.

_She tasted... like cream...._

"And I was just so tense in that moment. Not like I'm not enjoying myself - I love being here with you, Chloe - but when you said Nathan's name.... It just arose a lot of feelings from that week, and I had a lot of pent-up stress from that time...."

My nails dug into the mattress. I was hearing myself on top of her, now, and her body was my world; such a marvelous expanse of beauty could not be overlooked. Little mewls escaping her... her taste....

"And I'm so, so sorry. You're my best friend in the whole world. And..."

Now, I could feel her holding my wrists tighter. Her back was arching to meet my stomach. Her mouth was open, her eyes screwed shut, and the otherworldly sound coming from her... was making my head spin. Her stomach glistened, and now, so did the sheets, with some lovely, umami liquid I would be taking my time to savor.

"-I love you. A lot."

Immediately I regretted everything I had just thought about. My cheeks turned red; I was thankful for the dark.

So few times had I heard Max say those words, ever since she developed anxiety when she was young.

I took her hand in both of mine, noticing how my hands dwarfed hers easily. Even though the light wasn't hitting my face, I knew she was looking into my eyes.

"Super Max... I love you, too. You know I do. And nothing can change that, no matter how many times you get mad." I smiled softly, and she smiled, too.

 "You're the best, Che."

"I know," I grinned. She scoffed, settling back down in the sheets. "Get over yourself."

 "Make me!"

"Oh, I will," she said, but yawned right after. I chuckled.

"Maybe in the morning, after waffles."

"Definitely! I am uber tired."

"Let's go to bed, then. Night, Maxipad."

"Night night, Chloe."

A few moments passed, and her voice sounded again. "Excuse me, Che? You're forgetting something!"

"What-? What's that?"

"You didn't say good night to Captain, you big meanie. Now he's sad." She held him up and tried to look mad.

I laughed again, leaning over to give the little bear a kiss. "I am so sorry, Your Highness. Good night, Your Highness. I won't forget to say it next time, Your Highness. How will you ever forgive me, Your Highness?"

"Har har," Max grumbled and looked at Captain playfully. "What was that, Captain? You think Chloe's jealous that you're my favorite captain and she's not? I think so, too!"

"Oh, go to sleep, hippie!"

A snicker sounded before silence settled again. But after a few minutes, I said - 

"Wait, I'm not your favorite captain?"

_"Chloe!"_

 


	9. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their first day out, and the pair finds something in Max that wasn't there before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - PTSD
> 
> I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies when it comes to portraying PTSD. I do not suffer from it myself, and I mourn for those who do. However, I have done research to make my work as real as possible; but the internet remains quite unreliable, as I still have qualms as to many things concerning it. I am sometimes one to get caught up in the niceties of things. However, the episode of PTSD described here is a mixture of a PTSD flashback and the effects of Max's powers, so indeed, there are some "creative liberties" taken. Nevertheless, I hope this chapter remains enjoyable.

✴ℳ✴ 

* * *

 I awoke to the sound of cars and Chloe's snores. Blinking the sleep away from my eyes, I sat up and stretched, yawning. My gaze traveled around the morning-lit room, and I grinned, remembering entering the penthouse last night; the grin faded as I remembered what happened immediately afterward. But there Chloe was next to me.

Last night, I hadn't really been afraid in my own room. Just a little; going to a new place is scary on its own. But I was really just afraid Chloe would be angry at me because of the way I'd spoken to her, and the thought had kept me from sleep. And I couldn't think of any other thing to keep her anger at bay than to try and make amends, and to sleep together, just like when we were little.

I turned to Chloe now and smiled at her, a small line of drool trailing from the corner of her mouth. "Che," I said, shaking her gently, "wakey wakey!"

"Hm- wha- no, go away, mom..." she murmured in her sleep, trying to bat my hand away.

"Come on! I'm hungry!" I laughed, shaking her a little bit harder.

With a sputter, she jerked awake and sat bolt upright, looking like a deer in headlights. I snickered at the sight. "Did I interrupt your beauty sleep?"

"Why, yes, you did! And it takes a lot of work to look this drop-dead gorgeous, missy!"

"Pssh, you don't have to try to look gorgeous." The words came out of my mouth without hesitation - Chloe grinned; was she blushing?

"Well, I think we should go get waffles," she suggested a moment afterwards, turning away from me and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Yes, and we should drown them in syrup!" I responded playfully, also moving to get out of bed.

"And butter and chocolate chips!" she exclaimed, jumping up.

"And pineapples!" I joked.

She glared at me. "Oh, no you don't. You've already ruined pizza for me; you're not ruining waffles, too."

"Forgive me, Captain!" I laughed, my pirate accent coming out.

"Arr, but ye have already betrayed me trust! I have no choice but to make ye _walk the plank!"_ She grinned, too, coming towards me with her hands raised in the universal I'm-about-to-tickle-you position.

 I screamed and ran out of the room, and she chased me around the penthouse for five minutes, even onto the balcony, laughing between spurts of pirate speak, before tackling me onto the couch and tickling me breathless.

It was an absolutely lovely morning.

 

* * *

 

After heaps of hot waffles, Chloe and I set out to take on the big bad world. We went out, walked for a while, goofed off on the sidewalks, listened to the street performers playing lovely Christmas music while holding steaming cups of hot coffee. When we would watch them, it was with a glance towards me, searching for approval, that she would step forward and leave a generous amount of money for said performers. One such performer saw how much money Chloe had left, and he looked at her with tears in his eyes, barely able to express his gratitude. The little puppy at his side had licked Chloe's and my hands gratefully.

Now we were walking slowly, hand in hand, talking about things.

"So, have you texted Warren yet?" Chloe asked suddenly.

The question surprised me. "No, why?"

"Just wondering."

She looked at her boots, and a little smile graced her lips. "You're the best, you know?"

"Where is this coming from?" I laughed a little. Her words had made me bubble with happiness.

"I was just reminding you! You forget it all the time," she added, with considerable reproach. I looked at her and she looked back at me steadily.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I meant it.

"But look," she began, ignoring me, "you're so amazing. You've gone through so much - mostly caused by me - and you still wanted to come here with me. You still call me your best friend and your captain and -" here she hesitated, "your Che, but I treat you so horribly. You mean so much to me." She was looking back down at her boots again; her cheeks were pink. I knew she wasn't usually one for sappy talk, but now she was trying to push past her barrier - just so I could be more secure in her love?

"And I just wanted to let my first mate know that she's the bestest first mate a captain could have." She looked back up at me, a hopeful light in her eyes that made my stomach twist. I squeezed her hand gently.

"And you're the bestest captain a first mate could have," I said softly, and I wrapped her in a hug. She held me close and I could feel her chest heaving with a sigh of relief.

We continued walking, and suddenly we passed an animal shelter. Chloe absolutely lost it.

 _"Max Max Max Max look! ANIMAL SHELTER!"_ she squealed, actually jumping a little from excitement.

"Oh my gosh, chill out! What do you want to do in there, get some volunteering hours in for college?" I joked. She glared at me.

"Eat me. But imagine if we went in there and got a little puppy! And we could name him Ashkii, and he's gonna be the goodest good boy who ever gooded. And every Sunday we'll take him to the dog park, or maybe a strip club, and then he can release all of his stress contrived by living with you!"

"Okay, first of all, fuck you. And second of all, slow down. We're literally living in a hotel right now."

"I know, I know, but it would be so much fun!"

I sighed, but couldn't help laughing from how childish she was being. That's my Chloe.

"Look, Chloe, I would let us go in there and see some puppies, _but_ I know that if we do, you'll want to get, like, all of them. So no." I started walking away.

"But _Maaaaaaaaaax!"_ she whined, grabbing my arm. "Pretty pretty pretty please? I _promise_ I won't try and ask to adopt them. I _promise._ Pinky promise."

She stuck out her pinky and did the sweetest puppy face I have ever seen. I melted and locked pinkies with her, groaning playfully. "Five minutes."

"Twenty."

"Chloe-"

More puppy face.

"Ugh... _fine."_

 

 

We had stepped into the shelter where all the puppies were. One of the workers was following us close behind in case we wanted to take one out. I stood close to the worker, making small conversation, because I knew if I looked at the puppies, I might get attached.

Chloe was going up to all the cages excitedly, and some of the puppies were coming up curiously to sniff Chloe's hands through the bars.

One puppy took special interest in her; it was a small husky (perhaps somewhere between five and seven weeks old), its markings an icy gray, which came up to sniff her hand, nibble her fingers, and lick her. Chloe looked at me with such happiness, and she beckoned for me to come over with such ferocity that I sighed and came over.

"Maaax, look how cute he is!" she cooed, scratching the little husky on his chin. It panted happily, closing its eyes. I think I died a little from cuteness.

"He is very sweet," I managed to muster.

"Oh my gosh, Max. He's our Ashkii!" Chloe exclaimed, turning back to the worker who was standing near. "Could we take this one out?"

The worker obliged quickly and "Ashkii" went bounding into Chloe's arms. She settled down on the floor and put him in her lap. "Ashkii!" she grinned, giving him little kisses. He licked her all over her face. I laughed out loud as she sputtered, which caught his attention. Cautiously moving away from Chloe, he padded towards me, sniffing my hands as I kneeled down to let him scout me out closer. He suddenly broke into a huge doggy smile and placed his paws on my thigh, patted me there needily, and got to barking so loudly that it riled up the other puppies; I understood, chuckling and picking him up, holding him to my face. Chloe snickered as he licked my face and I recoiled, my mom's side of me, the tidy side, taking over.

"Wow, he really likes you two," the worker said. "Are you considering adopting?"

"Oh, no," I laughed a little as "Ashkii" snuggled against my chest.

"Yes," Chloe said at the exact same time.

I gave Chloe the signature best friend look of betrayal, and she gave me her signature shit-eating grin right back. But the worker just laughed. "You have plenty of time to decide. You're both young."

"Yes, we are, and being young is a ripe time to make good financial decisions, always keeping the future in close consideration," I replied, but I was looking at Chloe. She rolled her eyes and did an air hand job.

"Not in front of this pure baby!" I gasped in pretend shock, covering "Ashkii's" eyes. He gave a small squeak of indignation. Chloe laughed as he toddled away from me and came back into her arms.

"He likes me better!" she proclaimed.

"Only 'cause you're both stinky and act like babies." I snickered.

"Hey!"

 After a few minutes, I decided we could be exploring more places, and that we could return anytime, so I had to drag Chloe away from the shelter; we could hear little Ashkii crying even as we exited. 

Chloe was pouting angrily. I chuckled. "Come on, you baby. We can go back tomorrow. We'll go get a donut from Dunkin'." She crossed her arms and turned her head away in response.

"Two donuts," I haggled, leaning close to her and taking her arm. "Come onn, Che! I need my captain!"

At "two donuts," she perked up, looking at me excitedly. I laughed. Such a puppy!

 True to my promise, we began walking to Dunkin', hand in hand again. Our arms were swinging, and Chloe looked very happy.

"Y'know, Max..." she began, with a painstakingly familiar blend of mischief and sheepishness, "we could always adopt Ashkii and keep him in the hotel room. Pets are allowed. And it's not like many people live on our floor anyway."

"Oh, no," I laughed. "I knew this would happen! I knew we shouldn't have gone in!"

"No, no, listen!" she said, grinning and gesticulating in a very persuasive way. "You know we can afford it! And can't you imagine how amazing it'll be when it starts to snow and we can be inside with him with the heater going and we can snuggle him and-" 

"Chloe, a dog is a huge responsibility." 

"I know,  _Mom,_ but we're totally ready! Especially since we have you on our team." She smiled hopefully at me and gave my hand a little squeeze. "Please?"

"...I'll _think_ about it."

She laughed and hugged me tightly. "Aw, Super Max, you are the  _best!"_

I beamed fondly. I loved it when she called me that.

After a few minutes I began to notice something disconcerting. Dark clouds were beginning to coat the tops of the buildings. They were thick and murky, like old oyster soup. Usually this would not have bothered me. But the air suddenly felt much too warm. It was uncharacteristic of New York to be so warm at this time of year. I pushed the thought down.

But suddenly a huge crash of thunder sounded. It jarred me; I grabbed Chloe's arm on instinct, digging my nails in just a little to harshly.

"Whoa Max, down girl!" she joked, but upon a look down at me, she noticed my perturbed expression. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm... I'm fine." I swallowed and released my grip on her, realizing how hard I was gripping her. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay."

I tried to shake off the anxious feeling that was filling me with an awful sense of dread, and Chloe must have noticed it, because I caught her looking at me concernedly.

Another peal of thunder ripped the clouds.

I felt something to the effect of knocking the breath out of me. My knees buckled. "Chloe..." I breathed weakly, a feeble wheeze exiting me involuntarily.

"Max?" she said, panic rising in her tone. I felt her hands reaching to my underarms to hold me up. My eyes fluttered closed.

"Max - Max, please stay with me-"

And with that, it began to rain in torrents. The last sensation I had was of cold rain spilling into my mouth as I went limp, its flavor raw and chilling as steel, and of Chloe's voice, close to my ear, her arms holding me, whispering to me that she was there.

 

 ✴ℭ✴

* * *

 

 Before I knew what I was doing, I was rushing to the nearest taxi. Max seemed light in my arms, owing to the adrenaline pulsing through me. I told the driver to go to the Plaza, and if he got us there in five minutes, I'd pay him double the fare. Max, resting against my chest, was murmuring things quietly; at times I swore I heard her whisper my name in the most plaintive, heart-wrenching cry I had ever heard. But indeed, we got to the hotel speedily, and after tossing the money to him I ran into the hotel, breathing hard, I rushed to the elevator. Here I cursed myself for getting the penthouse; the twentieth floor seemed miles away. I pressed the button.

_One._

 It seemed as if I hadn't held Max like this in a long time. She was cold from the rain; she seemed new when she was asleep. "I'm right here, Max," I murmured to her, and her head was rested on my shoulder; she looked so sweet and innocent like that, I realized for the first time in a long time.

_Two._

She was stirring slightly, her face contorting in various looks of discomfort. I prayed what she was seeing wouldn't scar her. Her arms were hanging limply to her sides, but her hands were twitching, gravitating towards me at times.

_Three._

"Chloe..." she said, quite distinctly. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, but they were nearly unable to be distinguished from the rain which mapped her freckles. It broke my heart.

_Four._

I began to pace around impatiently, rubbing Max's back, reminding her that I was there, just to keep her brain stimulated. At one point, I told her I loved her, several times, and her little twitches and discomfort seemed to subside for a moment.

_Five._

She was breathing rapidly. I held her against my hip with one arm and held her hand in mine with the other. She whimpered and her forehead became moist with sweat.

_Six._

I began to sing to her quietly, a song we had listened to together several years ago. My voice was shaking, and so were my hands, but I led her in a small, one-sided dance in the elevator. "Someday, we will foresee obstacles...."

_Seven._

She began to sob in powerful, heaving motions. I patted her back and held her close. "No... no, Maxie... I've got you..." I crooned, and her hands tightened into fists. It was the first time I called her that.

_Eight._

I shut my eyes tightly to try and stop my tears. It didn't help. Her cries were too much for me. "I'm trying to help you..." I whispered shakily. She whined pitifully in response. "I'm really trying."

_Nine._

 "Max," I said, my voice trembling," I didn't mean to get angry with you the day you came back.... That was so unfair of me.... Please come back, now...." She began to shiver, and I held her tighter and puller her closer to my chest. Her face was burrowed into the crook of my neck, and I felt her breaths coming fast and hot.

_Ten._

"You're my best friend. I love you so much." I rubbed her back gently, and she squeaked softly, like a little kitten. I thought of Ashkii and how afraid he would be to see her like this. His small nose pressed worriedly against her innocent visage, his small body pressed against her in fear. I heard his small whimper and cry in my head as he looked up at me, helpless, his eyes wide as he witnessed his first episode of the unfairness of life.

_Eleven._

 It was the rain that had done this to her. I damned the clouds and the sky for hurting my Max this way. How could this happen? Max was trembling violently. I didn't know if it was from the cold or what she was seeing. But I wished I could help her. I lifted her head up and resting my forehead against hers, nuzzling her nose with mine. I wished I could've held her like this when she was awake.

_Twelve._

I felt my love for her increase tenfold. Her heart was pounding and I could feel it against my chest. I loved her so much. Her tightly curled firsts were making her nails dig into her palms; I didn't see it, I just knew it. Carefully, I pulled her hands open, wanting to kiss her palms where she had created deep red, crescent-shaped bruises. A little trickle of drool was trailing down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb and recognized how she reverted to childlike sweetness when she was asleep.

_Thirteen._

Admiring the constellations of her freckles through thin sheens of tears and rain, I counted each one, taking her chin between my fingers and gently turning her face so I could see the other side. She looked like porcelain.

_Fourteen._

She began to reach up, tremors racking her fingers, and grasp onto my index finger with her hand. Her whole fist was still smaller than that one finger, and I admired how delicate she was. "I've got you."

_Fifteen._

As horrible as it was, I felt slightly betrayed that she wouldn't wake up. It felt as if she were only asleep, not waking up just to spite me. My stomach took to churning rapidly.  _I have to stay strong._

_Sixteen._

"Max," I gasped, not really realizing that I was slightly out of breath from holding her, "why won't you talk to me?" Her chest heaved in both a sob and a wheeze, and I felt horrible immediately. She was going through enough at the moment. She didn't need me to burden her.

_Seventeen._

My lips trembled in a near-weep. I thought of something I didn't want to say, but I knew was true, and I knew she needed to know. Her anxiety came with bouts of paranoia. I knew; I had seen her suffer. The days she would cry to me in my arms about the things she thought she heard, but the things which weren't true; I was there. She was there for me, too. So I parted my lips and breathed, "You give me something Rachel never would - your unconditional love."

_Eighteen._

She began to move a little, clutching my shoulders tightly, her face burrowed against my neck still. She whimpered a barely perceived "I miss you..." before falling limp again. Too limp. It was then that I felt something warm and wet leak onto my shirt, and the sharp smell of blood felt all too sharp in my senses.

_Nineteen._

I shook her gently. "Max? Max, please." No response. I gently moved her away from my neck, shifting her so I could see her face and my hand was supporting her neck, holding her like a baby. I mustered up all my courage, looking at her gaunt face, the blood leaking from her nose. The color had drained from her cheeks; she was barely breathing. It was then that I pressed my lips, nervous and shaking, to her damp forehead.

  _Twenty._

I barreled out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. I rushed to the door, unlocking it and running into the suite, rushing to our room and laying her down gently on the bed. Her nose was bleeding profusely; I called the butler and snapped at him, a little too harshly, to get two small towels. However, he hesitated.

"Should I call an ambulance?" he asked.

"No! What the hell did I just tell you? Get me the towels!" I barked, and he rushed away to the bathroom. I took Max's hand in mine, willing her to awaken. The butler came back quickly, and I took the towels, simultaneously throwing some money at him. I used one towel to hold against her nose and the other to gingerly wipe her face and neck, gently brushing her sweat-matted hair from her forehead. Her paroxysms never lasted this long. I just prayed I could help her out of this.

I leaned close to her and once again, with a little more conviction this time, kissed her on her forehead. She felt warmer this time. She was close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I would like to offer some insight on something:
> 
> Since I decided I would like to begin to tell Max and Chloe's story in a more classical style of writing, I decided to put some layers in the story. For example, the elevator scene has a certain gravity when it comes to Chloe; every floor number that appears corresponds to Chloe's age. I like to believe that Max and Chloe were introduced to each other by their parents when they were babies, which is why it begins at age one. On floor one, Chloe notices with uneasiness that Max seems "new," as if seeing her for the first time. Then, at floor four, Chloe begins to pace throughout the elevator, implying that by age four, Chloe and Max had begun to go everywhere together. Additionally, at floor nineteen, Chloe presses a kiss to Max's forehead; at age nineteen, Chloe and Max shared a kiss. And floor twenty - by age twenty, Chloe and Max had set off together, venturing with each other, with only each other, forever.
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed that chapter; Max's point of view of the PTSD attack shall be revealed next chapter.
> 
> Have a wonderful day!


	10. Epiphanies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe helps Max recover after her nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: BRIEF NON-CON, DISTURBING DESCRIPTIONS
> 
> At the beginning of this chapter, a brief scene of non-consensual sexual activity is described, and additional slightly disturbing images. They can both be skipped without missing any plot.

✴ℳ✴

* * *

_Rain._

I thought I had gotten away. I thought I had brought Chloe; where had she gone? I was back in Arcadia Bay, the wind swirling around me. Raindrops pierced my face. The metallic stench of oil and blood steeped the air; debris was piled everywhere; people were sobbing and screaming and rotting around me. Chloe's necklace glittered at my sternum; I was back. It was after David had saved me from Jefferson. Which meant... Chloe was... no. It couldn't be.

I screamed.

My throat began to close and my head throbbed. Tears streaming down my cheeks mixed with the rain. I ran ahead, ignoring the people around me, baying at me for help. They sounded tortured. It broke me. "No," I whimpered, "none of this is real. It can't be...."

 _"Chloe!"_   I screamed, everything becoming too much. The people stared. Their eyes didn't seem right, as if they were stitched into their sockets. I hyperventilated against my will.  _"Chloe, where are you?"_

I had saved her. Why wasn't she here? Where was she?

Fires were burning in the buildings near me. I vaguely remembered saving Evan and a few other men, but I passed such landmarks. My legs carried me to the diner.

I was afraid, but my sense of direction served me well. Soon, the Two Whales Diner was rising before me, and I rushed inside through the pantry. Opening the door, I swallowed at what I would find.

"Max!" Joyce's familiar voice greeted me, and she wrapped me in a hug. "Are you alright? Where have you been?"

I hugged her back, nervous. "Joyce... I'm so glad you're here...." I breathed. I willed for Chloe to appear.

She pulled away and looked at me from an arm's length. Her eyes weren't stitched, like the others'. Hers were lovely and homely, like always.

"And I'm glad you're here. Would you like some pancakes?"

"Boy, would I..." I heard myself respond, not really of my own accord.

She exited my vision. All who were left were Frank and Warren. They looked up at me, in one synchronized motion, like robots. Their mouths were stretched into smiles, and they, too, had the stitched-in eyes.

"Joyce?" I whimpered, panic gripping me. My heart raced. "Chloe?" I added, in a softer tone.

"What was that?" Warren asked, his voice blistering with virulence. He walked towards me, but his movements, were jerky, and his skin looked as if it were made of rubber. I backed against the wall, swallowing thickly.

"H-hi, Warren," I said, shutting my eyes tightly and willing myself to wake up. When I opened my eyes, Warren was two inches away from my face, and upon closer inspection, his eyes were mirrored, like a fly's. My chest heaved in fear, but the air around me suddenly felt like syrup; I was suspended in a transparent fluid, unable to move effectively. Warren grasped my wrist. His nails gored my skin.

"I _know_ you like her," he snarled, his voice rising and falling unnaturally. "But she's a bitch. She doesn't treat you right. You're nothing but her puppet. You know I could treat you better, don't you?"

I cried and tried to shake him off, but the more I struggled, the more his nails ripped into my skin. I noticed him moving closer. And closer.

"Stop it... stop it.... Chloe loves me; she told me so...."

"She only told you so you'd stay." His mouth was suddenly at my neck, his lips and tongue seeking me there, making me scream. I shook my head and tried to escape; the syrupy air fought me.

I felt his hands feeling me all over. Sobs racked my body; I was too weak to struggle, and Chloe was the only one on my mind. I begged silently for her to appear, because though this was a dream, of which I was aware, my subconscious was struggling against me. She refused to materialize.

"Warren... Warren, stop it...."

"Shut up."

I caught a glimpse of Frank as Warren's hand slipped under my shirt. Frank was looking at me, and he stood up. I saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a knife. He stepped towards us, and for a moment, his eyes loosened and became normal again. He looked down at the blade and admired it, turning it in the light. Warren pinched me on the tenderest part of my chest, and his other hand began to reach lower.... But suddenly, a deep, dull clang sounded throughout the room. Warren froze, his eyes beginning to roll in his sockets before he fell over, revealing a grand Joyce brandishing a cast-iron pan.

The gravity of this gesture shook the world. I suddenly felt the world turn warm and lovely. Joyce dropped the pan and wrapped me in a warm embrace. She smelled just like she did when I was thirteen. I sniveled into her shoulder, like a child.

"Max," she said, and her soft drawling seemed to nearly lull me to sleep. "You're always welcome with me. And I'll always protect you, because you're another daughter to me; you can call me 'Mom.'"

I burrowed further into her shoulder and waited for my breathing to calm down.

"I know your mother doesn't always understand you," she continued, rubbing my back, "and there are plenty of things she doesn't know about you. But that's part of the reason why I'm here, and that's part of the reason why you're here, with Chloe. Don't forget that. Chloe is protecting you. Even if she doesn't know it yet."

I shut my eyes. The ambiguity of her message was making my head spin.

"When you come to terms with how you feel about her, and she, with you, everything will settle. You'll know it when it happens."

She pulled me away at arm's length to deliver her last sentence.

"After all, anything can happen in a week."

 My breath hitched and I was sucked deep into a swirling hole. The only face I saw before me was the one I was trying to forget. I was trying to push it away from me, but it came back each time. A square jaw, with swooping, dark hair, and a voice layered with frightening inconsistencies. I was staring deep into the eyes of Jefferson.

It came rushing back to me in an instant; the white, the black, the paintings, Rachel, and oh god, the syringe. I felt him holding me steady as it sank into my flesh, and the sleepy relief I felt, the dreamless fog. In the dark, touching Rachel's soul, and Kate's, and feeling the blood rushing through the caves in my body. I heard his voice, dark and strange, coming like a beacon through the hazy red. I felt his strong fingers tilting my chin up as the blood trickled from my nose.

 Blood.

I was rocketed back to the diner. Joyce was holding me again, and suddenly, the walls of the building trembled. First, the walls cracked and buckled and gave way; then went the roof, which crushed everyone underneath it. Except me. Tremendous noise filled my ears. I was frozen in the syrup-air. And as the wind churned the world around me, I looked down to the debris, where, wedged between two scraps of metal, Joyce's forearm protruded. Blood ran down it in veiny patterns, becoming a spider web, and then a butterfly. It taunted me. It reminded me that I couldn't wake up, not even for Chloe.

I can't escape.

The blood ran down my face more swiftly. It poured with the rain. I ran, rushing into the open road and jumping past the rubble as fast as I could through the syrup. Rachel and Nathan and Kate and Brooke and Alyssa and Stella and Justin raced past my vision. I stopped after several minutes, my knees crumpling beneath me to the ground, my hands trembling. A great sob racked my body; I buried my face in my hands.

Something touched me.

I leapt back and looked up, not believing what I saw.

Amidst the rain and mist, and the fire, there stood my Chloe, now bending down to be with me. She took my hand in hers and said, "Maxie, it's time to go home now."

I keened and held her hand tightly. "There's no home left, Chloe...."

"That's not true. That's not ever true. Don't you ever say that again." She pulled my hand to her lips, and kissed me there. I didn't think much of it, having lapsed back into dream state.

"Where's home?" I sniffled, wiping my eyes with one hand.

"Right here," she answered simply, wrapping me up in her arms, and though she was wet and it was raining, it was the warmest I had ever felt in my life.

 

 I burst awake, panting and sweating and the remnants of my tears still streaming down my face. Chloe's eyes were on me, her arms around me, her body flush against me on the bed. I felt her start at my awakening.

"Max!" she exclaimed, hugging me so tightly. I cried and hugged her back, burying my face into her shoulder. "Oh, Max, I was so worried...."

"Chloe, oh Chloe, it was awful-"

"I know- I know...."

Sniveling, my shoulders shaking, I swallowed and held onto her. My chest was still shivering. It felt lovely to grasp her after feeling like I'd lost her again. I had gone through so much to get her back, and it had been worth it. I remembered this now.

"Do you... want to tell me?" she asked quietly, after a few minutes, and she was rubbing my back gently. "You don't have to, if you're not ready-"

"No. No, I'm okay." I managed to pull away from her a little, enough to see her face. I cast my eyes down to the sheets between us. They were churned by my movement, wrinkled like a stormy ocean of milk frozen between us. "Frank and Warren were there... and they were... scaring me." I trembled imperceptibly as I remembered Warren's touch. Despite its dreamy haziness, I could still feel his hands at my hips, then slithering below, and behind....

"I'm here," I heard her say as she enclosed my hand in hers. "Not them."

I smiled gratefully, her warmth soothing my cold hands. But my smile faltered as I remembered the rest of the dream. "B-but, in the dream, you were gone," I said quietly, only able to look at her hand, a soft and fair chrysalis, around mine.

"Hey. Hey," she said gently, pulling me close again. "I'm never leaving you, okay? I'm always right here, right next to you."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

I grinned and snuggled against her. We held each other for a while, and when we pulled apart, I tried to sit up. Chloe protested.

"No, you don't! You gotta rest." She practically pinned me down and hopped out of bed. "You're still not feeling well."

"What? That's not fair!" I exclaimed, half-jokingly. I _was_ still very light-headed. It was funny how Chloe could sense such things. "How can you tell?"

"Like you said, Spider Max - it's the powers of best friendship." She grinned at me and felt my forehead with the back of her hand. A mock-serious expression creased her forehead. "Hm, yes. My suspicions are correct! A lobotomy might be in order for - what is the patient's name? Maxipad Cocksfield!"

"Tell it to me straight, doc - how bad is it?" I laughed, punching her gently on her arm at the nickname.

"Very bad! Very serious, indeed! You are suffering from a terminal illness called _being a boring nerd!_ The treatment includes having chicken noodle soup for dinner followed by lots of tickles in the morning!" She nodded grimly, snapping her fingers. _"Butler!_ One bowl of chicken noodle soup, please!"

"Oh _noes!_ I lost my mother the horrible illness of _being a boring nerd!_ Will I survive it, doc?"

She pursed her lips seriously and steepled her fingers. "I'm not sure. You seem to be too far gone, you big nerd. Maybe if you allow a certain Dr. Price to adopt a certain puppy called _Ashkii-"_

"Oh, don't you dare-"

"only _then_ would you have a chance of surviving. If not, you will lead a life in the crushing grip of _being a boring nerd,_ and you will eventually die. From being bored. By being a nerd _._ Choose wisely, Miss Cocksfield."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll take my chances, doc. And frankly, I'm beginning to think you're a quack."

 _"Me?_ A quack?" she gasped, offended. Her hand was pressed to her chest in displeasure.

"Yes! Let's see your certificate!"

"Here!" she sniffed, tilting her chin up in an uppity manner. She handed me an invisible certificate. "I graduated from High School Dropout University!"

I pretended to study the certificate closely. At last, I placed it down, looking up at her scornfully. "It's a pretty good fake, but it won't convince me."

 _"What?!"_ she exclaimed. "But it has macaroni and everything!"*

 I crossed my arms and turned away from her. "I demand a real doctor!"

"Shh! Sh! You'll expose me - and I've been trying to hook up with one of the patients here for _years!"_

"What, like in one of those weird hospital pornos?!"

She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I saw the laughter in her eyes. "Nothin' _weird_ about them, Miss Cocksfield!"

"Aw, gross!" I snorted, pushing her away gently.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it, ma'am!"

"I'll report you to the surgeon general!"

"You _wouldn't!"_

Just then, a knock came from the door. I froze, but Chloe seemed oddly calm.

"Ma'am? The soup you ordered is here," a voice came from the other side of the door.

"Come in, Malcolm."

The door opened and in came a white-gloved butler, like something out of a movie, carrying a white bowl of steaming soup on a silver platter. The butler in question was neatly-kept, each hair on his head in the correct place, and he knelt to take the bloody towel from the nightstand, replacing it with the soup.

"Thank you," Chloe said, and Malcolm nodded respectfully. He surveyed me for a split second, perhaps to surmise whether I was actually still alive after bleeding that much, before he exited, shutting the door behind him.

Chloe hummed softly, taking the bowl of soup from the nightstand and stirring my hot dinner gently. She looked at me, slightly perplexed at my stunned face. "What?"

"We have a _butler?"_ I said incredulously. "How did I not _know_ that?"

She laughed at me, snorting a little. "Oh, Max, you are so funny sometimes. We're in the Plaza! Of course we have a butler!"

"Poop head." I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Oh, you won't be calling me a poop head when I sneak you some wine from the bar someday," she chuckled. My eyes widened.

_"We have a bar?"_

"Yes, and I swear, your first taste of pineapple vodka will be right here in the Grand Penthouse."

 _"Vodka_ comes in _pineapple_ flavor?!"

Chloe chuckled and shook her head. "You may be Super Max, but you have a lot to learn."

 

The soup had cooled down, but it was still hot. It was after several minutes of soft, warm lamplight-talk that this paragon of temperature was achieved. 

"I think it's ready now," Chloe had said, her hand going to the silver spoon. I noted, with a thick swallow, the roundness of its curving handle, and its ladle. She had churned the soup gently with the instrument before lifting it out of the liquid. I watched, mesmerized, as a great flurry of golden drops dripped from the sides of the spoon, sliding down its gently sloped body. The sound was the loudest thing in the room. I swallowed.

"Open up," she said softly, spooning it gently into my mouth. I watched her eyes as she held the bowl underneath my chin just in case anything spilled. I swallowed it soundlessly, and it burned my throat in a satisfying sort of way. Her fond blue eyes were gilded by the lamp at the bedside. She looked back at me, smiling crookedly.

"What is it, Max? I got something on my face?"

I shook my head slowly, smiling a little, but my lips were still slightly parted in awe. I could feel the redness creeping up my cheeks. Her gaze only made it burn hotter.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, it's just a little... warm in here."

"It's the soup; take off the blankets."

I did as she told me, but it just left me more embarrassed and exposed than before.

"Come on, you have to eat," she said after an eternity. I let her give me another spoonful. I couldn't take my eyes from her. I felt a small trickle of warm liquid trickle down my chin as I closed my mouth too soon, and she laughed softly.

"You're making a mess."

I felt the spoon graze my chin so daintily in a gentle effort to clean me up. It made me shiver. A fluttery, warm feeling swelled in my stomach.

"Chloe...." I said hazily, my head suddenly feeling light again.

"Yes, Max?" I heard her respond. The world began to blur into marred blotches of warm tones of brown and ochre, and the vibrant shades of blue right in front of me. I didn't know if it was the heavy sleep talking, but there seemed to be a small purr in her voice. A teasing lilt.

"Mm, Chlobear..." I hummed softly, resting my head against the pillows stacked up behind me to support my back. My hand fumbled around until it got to her thigh. I heard a soft chuckle from her.

"Max, you have to finish your food if you want to take a nap."

"But... I jus' wan' to spend time... with _you_...." I lost complete control of what I was saying by this point. Everything was cloudy.

A jolt of sense came when Chloe pressed her hand gently to my forehead. But it dissipated just as quickly. "You still feel a little cold. Losing all that blood is causing this awful delirium. But you could still use some food so you don't get a migraine."

"You're so _nice,_ Chloe.... Jus' like dat big ol' tiger back dere." I pointed to a corner of the room where I saw a large blue tiger, who I was pretty sure wasn't there before. I suddenly got the idea that tiger was snooping around, butting into Chloe's and my business. "Hey, Tiger! Were you _spying_ on us? Dat's mean, you meanie!"

"Okay, Max," Chloe responded, looking to where I was pointing, a hint of worry in her voice. "There is definitely nothing in that corner. Just have one more spoon and you can go to bed."

"D'awww, dat's not very nice. I wan' go bed now!"

"Come on," she said gently, and she spooned a last spoon into my mouth. I downed it unceremoniously. She set the bowl back down on the nightstand. "Good, now let's take a nap."

"Yay!"

She gingerly took the pillows from beneath me until only one remained, and she settled me down on that one. She tucked me in. As she moved away, I grabbed her arm sloppily in protest.

"'Ey!" I snapped. "You din' give me my goo'night kiss!"

"What-?!"

"You used to _always_ gimme goo'night kisses when I was seven!"

"Max, when you were seven, you were seven. Now you're eighteen, and I can't give you goodnight kisses anymore."

_"'Ow come?"_

 "Um... because if your best friend gives you goodnight kisses, then you might shrivel up in disgust because of the beer she sneaked in her suitcase on your trip to New York City."

"Oh. Okay," I agreed, before turning over on my side and promptly falling asleep.

 

_✴ℭ✴_

* * *

 

After getting Max down to bed, I lay down next to her, getting my book and opening it, looking at the words but not reading them. Eventually, I put the book down on the nightstand and took to tossing and turning in bed with nothing I wanted to do. Not only was I stressing about Max's condition; I would be lying if I said that the way she had acted wasn't affecting me.

The vulnerable way she had dubbed me "Chlobear." The touch at my thigh. I wanted to give her that goodnight kiss. But I had given her two kisses that day already, both without her knowledge.

I buried my face in my hands and exhaled slowly. _Ugh, Max..._ I whined in my head. _How are you doing this to me?_

I turned over and looked at her face, unmarred by repose. Shivering, my hand crept close to her face. I raised it just enough to reach her nose, shutting my eyes as I felt the soft, careful breaths she exhaled tickle the backs of my fingers.

I itched to take her hand. But I turned my back to her before I could, shutting my eyes tightly. I didn't want to do any damage to her delicate retirement.

I swung my legs over the bed, getting up and going to my suitcase, retrieving a heavy paper bag. In it rested bottles of beer, and I pulled one out, opening it against the edge of a bureau and swilled it generously as I walked into the living room. I approached the glass door that opened to the balcony, observing the wet outside world. I surveyed, with grim conviction, the stormy clouds that still loomed above the world, releasing their torment on the roads and sidewalks below, albeit less than before.

I used to find such comfort in the clouds. I would imagine my father, lying in restful repose on a bed of vapor, seeming so much closer to me than when the skies were clear blue. I could see his content figure being soft and gentle as always. He was the opposite of David.

But the clouds, now, had hurt Max. I took personal offense from my father. Thought it hurt, I looked up at his dreary face framed by the oily, gray clouds, and I cried a little as I asked him why.

For the time being, I hated clouds.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * = Thanks to the lovely CaptainVampireKing for being so funny and giving me the idea for Chloe to say this. I'm serious, you guys. This dude is hilarious, as you all know.
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (and the bonus extra angsty ending)! Updates are coming!


	11. Boiled Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair embarks on an adventure of their enormous penthouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, needless to say, I am not filthy rich and have never set foot in the Plaza, let alone been in the Grand Penthouse. So I took some liberties in describing the rooms; what can I say? We're all creators, here!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

_✴ℭ✴_

* * *

 

It was three hours until Max awoke again. By that time, the color had returned to her face, and she was famished. I had been at her side when she awoke, just observing her, and when her eyes had blinked open, my heart had jolted in fright. But she acted as if it were normal, and greeting me sleepily and yawning.

"Hi," she had murmured, stretching a little.

"Hi, there," I replied.

She had stretched long and hard, her eyes shut tight. It was adorable.

"I'm hungry," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Of course you are. What do you want to eat?"

"Mm..." she hummed in quiet thought, but suddenly her brow furrowed and she sniffed the air, sitting up a little. "Wait, have you been drinking?"

"Um...." I chuckled a little nervously and raised my hands up. "You caught me. I brought some beer along in my suitcase, and I decided to have a little." I kind of lied. "A little" in this case meant three bottles. I was a little bit buzzed, but not enough for her to notice.

She groaned and rolled her eyes, shifting onto her side so her back was turned to me. "I'm not coming anywhere near you with you smelling like that. Go get me some waffles."

I snickered. "Sounds like someone's feeling better already!"

She was silent for a moment. It dragged on for so long I thought she had fallen asleep again. But suddenly she sat up.

"What happened after I woke up from my nightmare?" she asked.

"Well," I began a little concernedly, "we talked for a while, I gave you some soup, and you started... hallucinating a little bit, so I put you back to bed."

"Oh," she responded, scratching her head, a little confused. "All I remember is talking to you about a lobotomy or something. And we have a butler!"

"Yeah, I think you were a little bit delirious from the blood loss or something. You were pretty pale, and..." I trailed off. 

"And what?"

"I, um," I swallowed as I thought of what to tell her. "I fed you the soup and tucked you in, that's all."

"I see," she said. "What time is it?"

"About eight."

"Aw, my sleeping schedule's gonna be all messed up." She pouted and rubbed her eyes, groaning dramatically. I laughed at her.

"Hey, don't worry. If you can't get to sleep soon, I'll stay up with you and we can watch some TV."

Suddenly, her eyes brightened. She sat up, grabbing the remote at the nightstand and turning on the television.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, settling down next to her.

"Lookin' to see if they have _Final Fantasy: Spirits Within."_

 _"Oh. My. God._ You are the  _real_ worst."

After she had somehow discovered that _Final Fantasy_ was actually on the TV, I managed to drag her away from the bed. I told her we should explore the penthouse, because neither of us really knew much about it yet; she assented, and off we went.

The first new room we discovered was a large lounge room with a fireplace and a wall-mounted television. The couches were huge and soft and deep, rich red, with thin, translucent gold stripes going along them. Max adored them immediately, and we stayed there for an hour just talking and laughing on those big sofas.

We moved on eventually, racing each other into the next room, which was a huge dining room with a sloping wall filled with rows and rows of different types of wines. Max gasped a little, moving forward to slide her finger across to cool glass of one of them. 

"Wanna try some, Super Max?" I wiggled my eyebrows. "It'll be another awesome Max and Chloe wine-tasting session, just like when we were little! Except this time, there's no one to catch us."

She scoffed. "Except Malcolm, 'cause, you know. We're both underage."

"Who fucking cares? No one! Come on, Max, live a little!" I approached her to get a look at the wine she was eyeing. "Oh my god," I laughed, seeing the name she had just passed her fingertips over. "Max, do you remember this?"

"What?" she asked.

"This wine!" I pulled out the bottle, turning it over in my hands.  _Cabernet Sauvignon. 2000._ "It's the same wine we we drank when we were thirteen!"

"What? How can you tell?" She leaned over and lay her head against my arm to get a better look at it, sending little trembles up my spine.

"I just, um, remember." I blushed a little and looked away, putting the wine back on the shelf. "Somehow."

She was quiet for a moment, and she was looking at me, with a half smile, her hand on her hip. "Chloe Price," she snickered. "Chloe Elizabeth Price-"

"Ugh, don't you dare say my middle name, you nerd-"

"You remembered! How?"

I groaned and crossed my arms, turning away from her, mumbling something under my breath.

"What was that?" she chuckled, coming towards me and taking my arm.

"I wrote it down in my diary!" I said louder, looking away from her and pouting grumpily at the wall.

She doubled over in laughter, snorting a little. "That - oh my god - that is -" her sentence was cut off by another bout of laughter.

"Ugh, okay, Maxipad, you can stop laughing!"

"Ah! I'm sorry, that is just so adorable and hilarious at the same time. I cannot believe I got you to admit that." She wiped a fake tear of laughter from her eye.

"Neither can I." I rolled my eyes and began to walk into the next room. I felt her grab my arm. So much warmth shot up my spine.

"Wait."

I looked at her. She suddenly seemed a little bashful, looking up at me with a sheepish look. I had always found it so cute that she was so much shorter than I was.

"Promise me we'll have some of that wine one of these days?"

She gazed up at me, and I was completely taken by the lovely white pearls hidden in her pupils _._ I remembered, so many years ago, holding the wine bottle up to my lips, swilling it deeply. I I beamed, ruffling her hair. She squeaked and swatted me away gently.

"I can't believe Maxipad is finally growing a pair! Of course we can have it."

"You're the best."

She laughed and hugged me tightly. I held her to me discreetly as we left the room.

It was hours of exploring after that which led us to the final place: the balcony. By this time, it was nearly one in the morning. But New York was still alive and pulsating with relentless vigor; its persistence of redemption was what made it so appealing; it was completely disparate from Arcadia. In Arcadia, everyone knew everything, and the town was an elephant; no one could forget, or forgive. It felt different here. Every person was someone new, someone we didn't have to make an effort to get to know.

The first step Max and I took into the cold night air, we could feel the magical bubble we were in. The force field that surrounded us wrapped itself around the edges of the balcony fence, holding fast, keeping us safe. The air inside was warm and still, but even so, the intense motion churning the world outside could still make itself felt.

On stepping onto the terrace, Max was wondering at the stars crafted by men's hands glittering in front of her. I could see it in the perfect shape of her mouth. She stepped closer to the fence that stopped her from plummeting to the bottom. My heart quickened at the thought. I automatically came up beside her, fighting off the urge to wrap my arm around her waist to keep her safe.

She placed her hands on the fence; the tips of her fingers went through the bubble around us. I could almost hear it dissipate and, finally, become expunged, being carried away by the breath of the city, its belly filling up with wind. The undulate route of Max's cheek seemed ethereal as she smiled. She looked like something of Rodin's. She looked down to the wheeling streets below, and then above, to a lone, sweeping bird, its wings so large they scooped up the stars.

"That's odd," she said, "to see a peregrine so late at night. They go to sleep with the people."

"Give him a break. Maybe he needs to go to a strip club to unwind," I chuckled, leaning against the fence coolly.

"Honestly, what is with you and strip clubs?" she giggled, and her gaze returned to the streets below.

"What can I say? I like me a pretty girl or two," I joked.

"Gross, you perv!" she laughed, pushing me away. But she did a double take, and directly afterwards, I could see that she was attempting to cover up said double take, looking around nervously to the building across from us.

"What is it, Maxaroni?" I smiled at her crookedly, and I reached into the pocket of my jacket to find one of my pre-made blunts.

"Nothing," she replied, and she made a face as I pulled out my treat. "Ew, gross. Weed is stinky. Go 'way."

"I'll put it away if you tell me!"

"Mm.... Let's see you put it away first," she said skeptically, but amusement glittered in her eyes as she turned to me. I snickered, putting the joint back inside my pocket.

"Done. Now tell me."

She looked back towards the other building. "Just... you said 'a pretty girl or two.'"

"Yeah, what about it?"

She looked at me and narrowed her eyes a little. It was her classic _Are you kidding me right now?_ face. Suddenly it dawned on me. "Ah...."

"Yeah, Einstein," she laughed gently.

"I... never really got around to telling you, did I?" I smiled nervously, and my hand went to the nape of my neck. I cursed myself silently for doing it; Max knew very well it was a nervous tic of mine.

"No, you did not."

"I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything. I swallowed thickly, looking away for a moment. "But I don't really see why it matters so much," I said, which came out much harsher than intended. She looked at me, surprised, until surprise lapsed into apparent upset.

"It kind of does matter. Why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you! What makes you think I don't? I thought it was obvious!"

"It just hurts that you wouldn't tell me flat out. It's hard to for me to surmise that about  _you,_ the girl whose entire childhood consisted of drooling over posters of Rick Deckard."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Besides, I wasn't even drooling over him! I only did that because _you_ liked him!" The tone in my voice was rising. My blood was pumping. I couldn't control my anger. "I was drooling over-" _you._ I felt my body cool. A lump formed in my throat. _Goddamn it, you fucked it up again, Price. Way to go._ I didn't want to be yelling at Max. She meant too much to me.

"Over...?" Max said, and I looked at her. I couldn't say the truth. I combed my fingers through my hair and spat out the half-truth.

"Priss. Over Priss."

"Oh, really?" I saw the tension leave her face and shoulders, and a more relaxed smile shined against her face.

"Yes, really."

"Well, then, for the record, I didn't really like Rick Deckard either." She grinned sheepishly, and I laughed, hugging her tight.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... he kinda looks like a crusty potato. I think most boys do."

 "Me, too."

I held her at arm's length and grinned at her. "Well... now you know that Chloe Price is hella gay. You know what happens now?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we go back inside, Chloe fixes me some mac and cheese, and we watch Blade Runner so I can tease Chloe about Priss."

"...I was thinking more like we downloaded some lesbian porn from the hotel's selection of-"

"Nope!" she declared, throwing her hands up and walking back inside the penthouse. "A million nopes right there."

"Ugh," I groaned playfully, following her in. The warm air that flooded us was welcome. "Your mac and cheese will be ready in a bit, Your Majesty."

 

I asked Malcolm for some mac and cheese, the kind that come in those little cardboard boxes, because I knew the crappy kind was Max's favorite, for whatever reason. As I turned on the stove and began to prepare our very early breakfast, I heard the familiar sounds of the movie coming from the bedroom, and the strong voice of Max calling to me, "I'm not pausing this movie for you!" I grinned and stirred the gooey yellow mixture in the pot. My mother had done this for us countless times for movie night. I would always fall asleep on Max's shoulder. I smiled fondly at the memory. The smell coming from the pot, and the sound of her voice, truly made me think for the first time in five years that everything could finally be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of another short one for you guys again. But I hope you liked it! This story is so much fun for me to write. I love you guys so much!!


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